Somebody
by Misery's-Toll
Summary: Because remaining inconspicuous is impossible when you've painted a bright red target on your back. Sakura-centric, Sasuke/Sakura. High school fic. COMPLETE.
1. Nobody

**Part I**

**_Somebody_**

**_By. Misery's-Toll_**

**_Chapter One: Nobody_**

_Kiss the time  
that goes away  
'Cause it's just another day  
You'll relive it anyway_

_- "Another Day" by Air_

* * *

"Your mother would be terribly disappointed in you, Haruno."

_**Isn't she always?**_

"I just don't know what to do with you. I was hoping that the detentions and suspensions would be enough, but we're half-way through the school year, and you're still as reckless as ever," the principal shakes his head, "Why can't you be more like your sister? Ino is such a well-behaved student. You would do well to learn from her."

_CRACK._

Sakura releases the fist her hand has formed around the weak splintered wood of the armrest of the chair she sits in, and slivers of it fall to the floor, a large crack left in its wake.

Her green piercing green eyes glare up from their spot on the floor, surprising the man, "Ino is _not_ my sister."

When the principal recovers from his surprise, he waves the comment away offhandedly, "Damaging the school's property? That earns you another detention."

_**It's not your f**__**ault they're **__**too cheap to buy the school sturdy enough chairs.**_

"I apologize," the pink-haired girl murmurs darkly.

_**After all, what's another detention?**_

The principal shakes his head again, "Here. Here's a detention slip. You know the drill. Get it signed by a parent or guardian and drop it off in the box by my door. You're dismissed. Detention is in the Chemistry room tomorrow. Be there."

Sakura nods, not looking away from her shoes as she stands and begins to walk away, taking the slip from the man's desk. As she reaches the doorway, the principal calls after her.

"This is your last warning, Haruno. Any more shenanigans from you, and I _will_ have you expelled. No exceptions."

She pauses at the door for a second, unflinching, before uttering a quiet, "Hai."

Sakura exits the office, shutting the door with a soft _click_.

She is half-way down the hallway when she finally looks up and sees the familiar face of her best friend.

As always, her blonde hair is impeccably straight in its high ponytail, one thick lock covering one of her dazzling blue eyes, "Hey forehead, get your ass over here," the two girls on either side of her chuckle, hiding their faces behind hands with perfectly manicured fingernails. It makes Sakura mentally pause to think when the last time she had looked at hers was, "I've got a favor to ask, so hurry up."

_**A favor? Ino never trusts you with anything.**_

Sakura nods excitedly, and quickly trotting to the girl's side.

"You see," Ino says, placing a finger on her bottom lip, "This girl I know, she's been skanking around. She betrayed us, you see? I saw her kissing one of the guys on the football team --the one she _knows_ I've been after for like...forever! So I need revenge, and I wanted to pull the fire alarm and get her all wet, and ruin that perfect new perm she got. But the problem is...I'm wearing fake nails, and I'm afraid that if _I_ do it, then I'll break one of them off. So, Sakura, could you be a doll and pull it for me? I'd love you forever!"

Sakura misses the smirks of Ino's friends, and nods again fervently.

"Oh, good. It's right over there!" she announces in a sing-song voice, and points her faux-nailed finger in at the small red square on the wall opposite them.

Sakura walks up to it, swallowing the dry lump in her throat.

_**You'll get expelled if you get caught.**_

_Simple then. I won't get caught._

She pushes in the handle, and then pulls it down.

The alarm goes off a split second later, and before long, water is spurting from the silver sprinklers on the ceiling.

The door the principal's office bursts open, and Sakura takes off running. For several moments, Sakura, the principal, Ino, and her friends are the only five people in the hallway. He stares at the pink-haired girl as she realizes she had been caught, the hallways now filling with people.

"Principal!" Ino wails in her soprano voice, "It's Sakura! I tried to stop her!"

_**She ratted you out.**_

_He already knew it was me. Maybe she was hoping to show that she could be a good influence on me and that she's trying._

* * *

Parent-teacher conferences

are a funny thing.

They're meant to

show me how disappointed

my mother and father

and teachers

are

in me.

And maybe

make me feel a little bit insecure

about myself

so that

maybe

someday

I'll realize the error of my ways

and make someone

proud of me

in turn.

Parent-teacher conferences

have become so rare

that now

the idea of them is

almost

ludicrous.

At the start of the year

they were frequent.

Frequent as I showered

or as frequent as I slept.

_**Now s**__**leeping is a luxury you can rarely afford.**_

But

I think eventually

the principal realized

that

no matter what

I wouldn't change.

_**You'll never change. Change is a lie.**_

Ino liked me this way

and if I had a friend

then it was worth it

to risk not getting into college

some day.

Because

who was going to pay

for a failure like me

to get a college degree?

But for some reason

I was here

in the principals office

again.

My parents behind me

and Ino

sulking in the corner.

_**Do you think she's proud of herself? Does she see what she's done?**_

"I'm sorry to have call you

at this point in the year

but-"

* * *

The ride home is

painful.

Not so much physically

unless you include

the tight clench

of an invisible fist

around my gut

or the

thick lump

that won't

disappear

from my throat

that had been there

for days,

weeks,

months.

_**How long has this been going on?**_

But

the thickness

in the air

was almost

tangible.

I could almost

taste

the displeasure

of my mother

my father

and Ino.

"Why do _I_ have to leave?

I don't want to leave!

I have friends!

I have a boyfriend!  
_  
I_ have good grades!"

_**Didn't Ino have a crush on a football guy? Since when does**__** she have a boyfriend?**_

My mother gritted her teeth.

"Shut up, Ino!

I'm

driving!"

_**She never yells at Ino.**_

"But, mom!"

"Shut up!"

My father roars from the front seat.

The car is silent for the remainder of the drive.

* * *

I don't sleep.

I never sleep.

Well

I do sleep

_sometimes._

If I am lucky

I get some rest

three nights a week.

When I don't have

exams to study for

pranks to pull for Ino

or

when my parents

don't have the energy

to let their passion loose.

But

I wasn't going back.

I wasn't ever going back

to the school

with Ms. Loraine,

or the principal,

or Ino's friends,

or the football guy.

No more exams

and

no more pranks.

And

I think that maybe

my parents' moans

were those of sadness

through their grunts and

screams of ecstasy.

Because

their daughter,

their _real_ daughter

was a failure.

While their adopted

was their pride

and joy.

But

I don't think I could have slept

whether they moaned

or not.

For

in one week

my world would change.

I'd be going

to a new school.

I'd have new opportunities.

I could have friends.

I could have

_anything_.

Sleeping

seemed impossible

when there was

time to daydream

even after the moans

and groans

and screams

stop.

But I think

sometime

just before sunrise

I must have fallen asleep

with a smile

on my face.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto doesn't belong to me. So...yeah.**_

_**Please tell me whatcha think. ;D**_

_**-MT**_


	2. Left Out

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Two: Left Out**_

_Spin me round again  
and rub my eyes,  
this can't be happening  
When busy streets amass with people  
would stop to hold their heads, heavy_

_- "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap_

* * *

The sun blares through the window on to Sakura like a magnifying glass on an ant. She tosses an arm over her eyes when the light becomes brighter, the clouds floating away from the sun in the breeze.

_**Hide and seek is no fair when your hiding spot moves for everyone to see you.**_

The girl removes the twisted blanket from her person, and walks over to the window, placing her hand on the glass.

She thinks that maybe if she frees her mind of worrisome thoughts, that maybe this clear force field will let her pass through, and she could leave this dark room full of past disappointment and painful memories behind, and maybe an angel would outstretch his arms to her, his life-force the sun, and she would become light as a feather, and she could dance upon the ray of light he has laid out for her as though she weighed nothing, dancing over the treetops and dismal buildings, something stronger and more lovely than gravity pulling her towards him, and when she finally reached the angel, he would take her into his warm embrace, and there would be no such thing as hell, even if his life-force burned her with its intensity, because he would be breathing his majesty into her, and she could fly away with him-

Her thoughts are interrupted when she feels a harsh pressure on her arm --the spot she knows is a pressure point; she taught it to Ino when she needed to be prepared for an explanation in science -- and she turns to see the blonde with an angry expression marring her lovely countenance.

She is roughly shoved against the window, and for a moment, the pink-haired girl wonders if it will allow her to pass through, so that she could avoid Ino's anger like she should be able to, and she could sprout wings and fly away, and Ino would be left on the other side of the glass to watch.

_**But she's such a good friend?**_

If Sakura had the opportunity, would she take Ino with her? Where they could become angels together?

Her thoughts are interrupted once again when she feels the hard glass digging into her shoulder blade, and she suddenly knows --the clouds are moving over the sun again-- that her angel isn't coming for her. Not today.

"This is your fault! It's all your fault!" Ino shrieks, her voice unrecognizable in comparison to its usual melodic self.

Sakura's shoulder is lifted and forced into the glass two --three times.

Sakura knows its her fault, and so she takes her punishment willingly, keeping her eyes down, and she traces the lines of her bare feet, and as she feels the heat of the glass on her newly-forming bruise, she wonders when the last time it was she had been permitted to shower.

The shower is in Ino's room. Ino had persuaded her mother to give her the master bedroom. And while they live in upper-middle class status, their house only has one bathroom. She can feel the clumpy mess that is her hair clinging to her back and her neck, and she doesn't like it, but she accepts it. She hopes that Ino might go out shopping or something, so that she can quickly use the shower while she's gone. Maybe Sakura would leave the shower door and the window open so that the water would dry up faster --that way if Ino wants one, she won't know that someone's been using it. That way, even though she knows she'd deserve it, she won't get punished again.

It takes Sakura a few moments to register that Ino has released her shoulder, leaving just a few bloody imprints of her fingernails on her bare shoulder in her wake.

The blonde huffs, looking down at the floor for a moment, and Sakura wonders if maybe Ino is curious of what Sakura always looks at when she's ashamed, until she looks up, just to deliver a sharp slap across her cheek bone.

Within seconds, the girl is gone, Sakura left behind.

* * *

Now and then

I get a little bit lonely

and

I know that's bad of me

when I have a friend

so nice

like Ino

who

never makes fun of me,

never ignores me,

never forgets I exist.

Ino speaks to me

unlike the other girls

who always seemed to just

forget I was there.

_**You are faceless.**_

But now and then

when Ino has left the house

to go be with her other friends

_**You know they laugh behind your back.**_

and mother and father

are at work

I feel

useless.

But

when I shower

its like I'm

washing away the sin,

the sin that is me

like the way I felt

when

the water was pelting down on me

when

I pulled the

fire alarm

four days ago

even though

the principal was glaring

and the students were staring

and

Ino was crying.

I felt

the water caressing

my skin

like maybe it cared

and it was trying to sooth me.

I think

Ino's mad at me

for she has

come to punish me

every day since

my expulsion

since

she found out that

I was ruining her life by

making her leave her school,

her friends,

her boyfriend,

and I felt that

maybe I shouldn't be so happy that

I was leaving it behind if it

made Ino sad

because

she was

so

nice

to me.

* * *

Rain pelts the window, and Sakura wonders if this is a sign --if her angel is sending rain to her to tell her that he's not mad, she is pure (for now), and that they're just not ready for each other.

Ino lets Sakura shower the morning of their first day at Konoha High school. Ino says that she doesn't want to be embarrassed by walking into the school with a dirty girl. But Ino showers first, so that Sakura's impurities don't rub off on her.

_"You're like a disease, Sakura. I'm sorry hun, but you're ugly and you've no redeeming qualities. And I just don't want that to rub off on me."_

Sakura nodded, and accepted it. She didn't want Ino to be rejected like she was. And it had felt wonderful when the cold water ran over her skin (she didn't mind that Ino used up all of the heat; it was Ino's to use).

The school is large, and Sakura has trouble navigating through it. They are here early. Ino can drive, but Sakura's mother does it for them because she needs to speak with the counselor about Sakura's transcripts. Ino and Sakura pick up their schedule, and the latter is disheartened by the lack of classes she has with Ino.

The former is elated.

Sakura doesn't know how to make friends, and she was hoping that Ino would set the example. Sakura hates her classes.

Her first period class is art. She has a block schedule here --something she's unused to-- and she has approximately two hours of each class, alternating every other day.

Sakura doesn't know how to draw. The students have been working on a project for half a week. She's new, so she has to finish an original piece by the end of the week. She's in a beginners class, and she sits next to a boy named Kiba. He grins at her when the teacher --a nice woman by the name of Kurenai-- tells her to sit by him. He doesn't speak to her though, and she doesn't speak to him. He has a conversation with a blonde boy sitting across from him.

Sakura doesn't catch his name, but she thinks he looks kind. He sends her soft smiles, and they reach his shining blue eyes. He has odd whisker-like scars, and she thinks maybe they could get along if they had a chance.

A short girl with cropped blue hair trips over a leg placed in the middle of the floor (Sakura knows it was on purpose; she's been subjected to that sort of thing a lot) and sends her paint tray flying into the blonde boy's back.

His orange jacket is splattered with blue.

For a moment, Sakura gets a fearful expression when the navy-haired girl's beautiful pale eyes tear up, the class ridiculing the girl for her clumsiness (_"How could you be so blind, Hinata? Aren't those eyes of yours supposed to be brilliant?")_, and Naruto for being so unaware of the paint tray that had hit him _("You're hopeless!")_.

Instead of getting angry, the whiskered boy just helps the girl stand, and says to the girl named Hinata, "You know what? I've always liked orange and blue together."

Kurenai-sensei sends Naruto to the restroom to clean up his jacket, and Hinata to the nurses office to check on the scraped heels of her hands.

Sakura thinks that maybe there are other nice people, like Ino, at this school, and she feels hope well up in her chest.

* * *

English class is

something that I am

good at.

I like English

because

it is the one class

that I'm better at

than

Ino.

_**She's absolutely perfect**_

Ino is my friend

but

sometimes

I wish that there was

maybe just

one thing that I was better at

than

her.

When I first

enter

the classroom

I think that

maybe

I've entered the wrong room

but I

double-check

my schedule,

and I see that

I'm correct.

I think that I might

come to like English class

even more.

English only has

seven students (including myself)

due to a

scheduling problem.

But

only four are in the room

when I walk in.

I

make

five.

A boy with

long

well-kept

brown hair that

looks very silky

and beautiful

pale eyes

_**They look like the girl's from art class.**_

tells me that

Kakashi-sensei,

the teacher,

is always late.

He

speaks to me

coldly

and looks very tough

in comparison to

the teary-eyed girl

from

art.

A brunette boy with

his hair in a short

spiky

ponytail

sits in the corner

sleeping.

He doesn't even

acknowledge

me.

A girl with

fire-red hair

and large breasts that

bulge out of her clothes

_**You know she does that on purpose.**_

and expensive-looking glasses

looks at me with

distain

and I can't help but think that

maybe

she might even be prettier than

Ino.

She sits next to

a

beautiful boy

who looks

less than happy that

the new student is

a girl.

_**He's closed himself off.**_

His face is a lovely

pale color

with dark

painted eyes

and

raven's-wing

hair.

He looks like

an angel

_**Could you fly me away from here?**_

but

maybe a fallen one

for

he's so dark-looking

and

he looks like

maybe he's dating that

beautiful

red-head.

And I think maybe

this is why

its raining today.

* * *

Ten minutes late, a blonde boy rushes into the classroom. Sakura recognizes him as the smiling boy from art class.

His jacket has had blue strips of cloth sewn onto it, lining the top and the bottom, covering the splotches of paint, redesigning the article of clothing. Sakura can't help the awkward smile that breaks onto her face, and as their eyes meet, her smile is outmatched by his large gleaming one.

He winks at her, before letting out in one heavy breath, "Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet, right? Please tell me he isn't here!"

The sleeping boy from the corner of the room opens one eye, and says, "Troublesome. No, he's not here."

"Geez, Naruto! You're so loud!" the red-headed girl complains. Her voice is nice too. Sakura thinks its much nicer than her own plain voice.

The blonde --Naruto, turns back to Sakura and gives her another grin. Sakura thinks that smiling-boy is a good nickname for him. His smiles are infectious.

"So, what's your name?" he asks her.

She feels uncomfortable when she sees that everyone is looking at her. She swallows loudly, and she says as clearly as she can manage, but its still soft, "Sakura."

The brunette boy with the long hair and pale eyes snorts (but doesn't sound nearly as stupid doing so as one would think), and says, "Figures."

"Tell me, Sakura," the red-head girl says, obviously not pleased that she's no longer the only girl in the class to be picked from by the boys, "Is your forehead _naturally_ that large, or were you dropped on the head as a child?"

Sakura stares at her for a second and says nonchalantly, "I don't know."

The 'troublesome' boy (as she has labeled him) chuckles, "Nice response. I like you, kid."

"Whatever," the red-head rolls her eyes, "I'm Karin. Don't forget it, bitch."

Sakura is used to being called names, and simply nods.

"How could she possibly forget a name as ugly as yours?" Naruto laughs. Sakura frowns. She thinks Karin is a very pretty name, but since she wants to fit in, she says nothing.

She's still not heard the voice of the onyx-eyed angel though, and she wants to, so she turns to him, "Ano...what is your name?"

He stares at her for a moment, as though measuring the danger of telling this obnoxiously-pink-haired _girl_ his name, before murmuring, "Uchiha Sasuke."

His deep voice is pretty, and it matches his face well. She nods, and looks away before Karin can get mad.

"I'm Hyuuga Neji," the boy with the pale eyes says, and he glances over at 'troublesome', who has fallen back to sleep, "And that's Nara Shikamaru."

She doesn't think this boy likes her very much, so she just nods, before looking down at her feet again, which are covered with torn up black Sketchers her mother bought her at the beginning of her freshmen year, and she wonders for a moment why her mother didn't take her to buy shoes at the start of her sophomore year.

"Where's fuzzy brows? He's never late or absent!" Naruto asks loudly.

There's a collective shrug from the members of the classroom, and everyone goes back to what they were doing prior to Sakura's entrance. Neji is scrawling something in his notebook, Shikamaru is sleeping, and Karin is speaking in hushed tones to an annoyed-looking Sasuke who is listening to his mp3 player.

Naruto sits on a desk close to where Sakura is standing, and pats the place beside him, signaling she should sit. She stares for a moment, contemplating.

_**Ino tells you not to get too close to guys.**_

_She doesn't need to know...right?_

Finally, she complies, sitting beside him.

"So, what do you think of Konoha?" he asks, swinging his legs as she speaks.

She glances to the faces of everyone in the room, her eyes finally resting on Naruto's, "I...I don't think I've been here long enough to form a substantial opinion...People here seem nice though."

He laughs, "I'm surprised you've gotten that impression. So far you've seen someone trip Hinata, me get splattered in paint, Karin ask you if you've been dropped on your head, and Neji, the guy with a stick shoved up his ass."

Sakura doesn't quite understand, but says, "But you were nice."

He chuckles, "Thanks. You seem nice as well."

Sakura's silent. She's never heard anyone tell her she's nice before, so she just offers him a small smile, as she withdraws into her shell once again.

Kakashi-sensei has arrived, forty-five minutes late, and its time for her to get to work.

* * *

Lunch is...

confusing.

We sit outside

on

the picnic tables

or

on the ground

or

even in a tree

if we want

instead of

sitting inside

lined up in plastic seats

at

long white tables

that look so white

that maybe

an operation has taken place on them

and

they've been bleached.

So

I sit

under a tree,

on top of my raincoat

so that

the wetness of the grass

(it stopped raining awhile ago)

doesn't mess up my

jeans.

Ino sits

with Shikamaru

whom she met during

first period

she tells me

in the hallway

on the way to

lunch.

She

has a crush on him

and

doesn't want me sitting near him

so that

I don't scare him off.

Shikamaru sits

with a large boy

with golden-brown hair.

He eats his lunch

and then

most of Shikamaru's.

But

I don't watch for long because

if Ino catches my gaze then

she will be mad at me

so

I eat my food

in silence.

* * *

Third period is

Speech.

I hate

Speech

but

Hinata

is in my class.

The teacher,

Gai-sensei,

a very exuberant man,

sits me beside her.

I find out that

she is Neji's

'less-competent'

cousin.

Her father runs

a dojo,

and she is

supposed to take it over when

she comes of age but

her younger sister

and her cousin seem like

more likely selections

to her.

She wants to become

a woman who

makes medicines.

It makes me happy

because

I want to be a doctor

even though

I know I can't be

_**You're not good enough.**_

so I think that maybe

Hinata and I could be

_friends?_

* * *

Sakura is assigned a uniform by the coach in P.E. Ino is in this class too, so Sakura is happy. But when she and Ino are changing, she realizes how much prettier Ino is in the uniform than she is. Ino seems aware of this too, and has a slight smirk tugging at her lips.

"I don't want you talking to me during P.E.," Ino says to her, stiffly, uncomfortable changing in the same room as the pink-haired girl.

Sakura looks sad, "Oh. Okay."

Ino seems frustrated, "Oh, fine. If you can manage not to talk to me during P.E., I'll help you find your locker after school."

Sakura's expression immediately lifts, and she is very happy, "Thank you, Ino! You're such a good friend!"

Ino laughs, "I know."

Suddenly, the blue-eyed girl's look becomes somber, "You can't tell anyone how you got those bruises or anything, okay? If you do, I won't help you after school."

The girls' uniform is a white, thick-strapped tank top, and short blue shorts. The bruises and cuts from her punishments are still apparent on Sakura's arms.

She nods, "Yes, Ino."

"Good."

* * *

Today is

conditioning

in

P.E.

We are to

be paired in

groups of six and

spend three minutes at

each station

performing

different actions like

push-ups,

line-jumps,

crunches,

et cetera...

But

my arms hurt

and

the bruises on my shoulder ache

with each

jumping-jack

and

pull-up

so

I don't get nearly as much done

as

the other people in

my group.

The boy named

Kiba

from my art class is

in my group.

He is

the only one to

question me about

the bruises.

So

I lie and

tell him that I

fell

down the stairs.

He looks doubtful

considering the distinct

nail-shaped crescents

imbedded in my skin but

says nothing

about it.

I don't know

anyone else in my group

and

they don't bother to give me their names

except for

a girl named

Ami

who

only tells me so that

she can let me know

not to get in her way

and

not to go anywhere near her

Sasuke-kun.

When

class is over

its a relief.

My

arms and

shoulders

and

stomach muscles hurt

and

I smell like sweat

and I'm bothered

because

I know that

I won't get to shower

two days

in a row.

* * *

When no one approaches Ino about the damage done to Sakura, she agrees to help. She takes Sakura's packet and examines the sheet with her locker number and combination. Ino realizes that their lockers should be on opposite ends of the building, and tells Sakura that this is the only time she'll show her.

Every locker is taken so Sakura shares a locker with someone, and Ino does as well.

The two girls walk down the hallway, where they see a boy their age with onyx hair and onyx eyes, with pale skin and smooth features rummaging through his locker. A red-headed girl with glasses and stylish tight clothing stands behind him, speaking to him.

The hallway is mostly empty. It has taken Sakura and Ino a long time to find this area, and most students have left. Sakura's mother is probably waiting for them, but then again, maybe she isn't.

As they get closer they can hear the boy and girl's conversation, and they also come to realize that Sakura is sharing a locker with this beautiful boy.

"Oh, Sasuke-kun, please go out with me!" Karin begs sweetly.

"No."

"But, Sasuke!"

"No."

"What are you even doing? Why are you getting rid of so much stuff?" she motions to the pile of items on the floor beside the boy's feet.

"I have to share my locker now. I'm clearing space."

Karin looks up when she notices the approaching girls, "What do _you_ want?"

Sakura blushes and looks down as she clutches her folder to her chest. She's happy she gets to share a locker with Sasuke.

"This is the locker I've been assigned to, so back off!" Ino says irritably, before smiling sweetly at Sasuke, who doesn't acknowledge her arrival.

Sakura's head jars up abruptly. But...this was her locker, right?

"Ino..." Sakura murmurs lifting her hand to touch her friend's sleeve, and points to the sheet of paper Ino is holding, that says

_Haruno Sakura_

_Locker # 348_

_10-44-06_

Ino glares at Sakura, "I know, forehead."

Sakura looks down again to escape the harsh gaze of the blonde.

"Here. I've finished. Just don't touch any of my stuff," the Uchiha says as he sticks his belongings in his over-stuffed backpack, and throws it on. He walks away towards the exit of the school, and Karin runs after him.

"You're trading lockers with me," Ino says, "I'm just protecting you. Many girl here have crushes on Uchiha Sasuke, and I don't want you get hurt because of it."

_**Ino has a crush on him too.**_

_I think she's telling the truth._

Sakura smiles, "Thank you, Ino."

* * *

We had

run out of time

for me to

go to my new locker

so I

was going to

have to find it

on my second day.

When

we got home

Ino was

so happy about

her (my) new locker,

since she

got to share it with

such a

_"Sex-God"_

that

I didn't

get punished.

And since

my father was

out

as he was

every Monday

I could sleep.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto...yeah. So there.**_

_**A/N: So...quick update (for me, at least). This one was much longer. By about 2,000 words. So, I hope you liked it. If this story ever gets to be too much melodrama, just tell me, 'cause I don't want it to get annoying.**_

_**Oh, by the way, I've wanted to start a request fic. Scroll to the bottom of my profile, for detail (not that I have much).**_

_**And I'm glad that you all liked the first chapter. This is kind of different from anything I've written before...so...yeah.**_

_**Please review!**_

_**-MT**_


	3. Clipped Wings

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Three: Clipped Wings**_

_I followed you last night  
I watched you turn the lights out  
I know it wasn't right  
I watched in fear and doubt  
It's gotten to be that way_

_- "Going, Going, Gone" by Stars_

* * *

Mom

had to leave early this morning

for a meeting

so Ino

drove us to school.

She

dropped me off

a block away from

the school

so that

no one would know

that

we carpool together.

It was raining

again.

* * *

In History, they learn about the previous mayor of Konoha, a man named Namikaze Minato. Sakura learns that he had a child the night he died, taking a bullet to save his newborn son, and his wife. The wife and child disappeared to start a new life.

The teacher, Asuma-sensei, lectures a lot, despite his lazy disposition.

Karin sends Sakura glares all during class. They sit at opposite ends of the table, Karin at the head and Sakura at the tail. When the bell rings, Sakura is the first person out of the classroom, and by the time Karin gets out to give the girl a piece of her mind, she's already gone.

**_Disappear...start a new life...with the angel and Ino._**

Sakura is staring at the ceiling in her Honors Biology class, sitting in the desk with a sheet of paper with her name on it. She has always hated science, because of gravity and how the laws of physics prevent her from flying. She can hear Karin's high-heeled boots hitting the linoleum floor, and she knows the girl is coming towards her. Sakura thinks that maybe if she stares long enough, the ceiling will realize that it's tired of abiding by physics, and it will fly away, and then the piece of paper in her hand with her name on it will fold itself into a pair of tiny white wings, and attach themselves to her back, and she would fly into the air, escaping Karin, and then Sasuke, who's sitting in the desk catty-corner to hers, will follow her with raven's wings, and-

"Get up."

Sakura automatically averts her eyes from the ceiling, and towards Karin's face, but too late realizes her mistake; she doesn't get second chances. The ceiling won't allow it.

"Are you stupid? I said get up!" the red-head shrieks.

Sakura doesn't want to anger the girl. Karin is half a foot taller than her, and is very good in P.E. The rosette-haired girl stands.

"Come with me, bitch," the red-head says, pushing her glasses higher on the bridge of her nose, "And take your stuff."

Sakura complies, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Karin grabs her forearm roughly, and begins to drag her from the room. Sakura manages one last pleading gaze, hoping anyone will help her.

Sasuke is staring at her, his expression inscrutable.

* * *

The floor is

hard.

Karin is

mean.

Sasuke is

confusing.

"That stupid

ho!"

Two slaps and a

punch to the

eye.

My head hits

the tile and it

jars my

skull, but

it doesn't bleed

and for that I'm

thankful.

_**Because blood would be difficult to explain when its there every day **__**and**_

_**You're not allowed to shower.**_

Karin hits me

a few more

times

but

I've drawn into myself

and I am

staring at my

Sketchers.

One of the laces

is gone

and

the tongue

is missing

from the other.

They're ripped

and the suede is

torn and

dirty.

The plastic is

coming off

too.

"This

is a message to

your dear friend

Ino!

Tell her to

back off!"

Karin opens my backpack and

dumps my stuff

in the toilet.

She

exits the restroom

without another glance at

me.

_**How will you explain that to your mother?**_

But

now that she's gone

I can

feel every spot

she hit me in

and

it hurts.

I

pick myself up and

clean myself off.

My eye is already bruising and

blood is trickling from

the side of

my mouth.

Suddenly

the crescent-shaped scabs

on my shoulder don't

hurt so much

in comparison.

* * *

Sakura sits by herself under the same cherry-blossom tree as yesterday. She doesn't feel like eating because her stomach is sore from where she was hit, and her mouth hurts from being punched.

So she watches Ino sit with Shikamaru and the large boy. They are sitting across from a boy Sakura doesn't recognize today, but they don't speak to him. He looks closed off. He has black hair, black sunglasses, and a high-collared jacket. Her thoughts are drawn away by a small voice.

"Ano...may I sit with you?"

Sakura looks up and sees Hinata staring at her with pleading white eyes. The pink-haired girl is surprised, and it takes her a few moments to respond, but finally she nods. Hinata sends her a timid smile, and sits beside her.

Hinata wears clothes that are too big for her. She wears a tattered blue sweatshirt that seems to swallow her, and a pair of large shorts that only barely peak out from underneath her top. She's wearing Ked's that have been colored with Sharpie, but no socks.

She's shivering, Sakura notices. Her clothes are already wet, so it doesn't matter that she's sitting in the grass.

Hinata doesn't eat lunch today either.

Hinata doesn't ask Sakura about her bruises, and Sakura doesn't ask Hinata about her ruined clothes. Sakura just gives up her raincoat she's been sitting on, and drapes it over Hinata's bare legs.

The two don't speak to each other, they just stare off into space, two fledglings whose wings have been clipped, and will never see the chance to fly.

* * *

Sakura is bad at math. The teacher assigns her a desk near the front to make sure she learns, replacing another student with her. She sits next to a brunette girl with her hair in buns at the end of the front row. She's given a test to see how much she knows about Geometry, and while she finishes quickly, she thinks its because she has no idea what she's just done.

Sakura is bad at math, but she thinks she likes the class. The teacher's name is Ibiki-sensei, and while he's tough, and he's not handsome, Sakura thinks he has a good heart. He allows the students to speak to each other at a low volume, so that they can ask each other questions and learn communications skills. He tells Sakura that he hopes that students will make the correct choice, and learn, instead of just chatting. The decision is up to them.

She learns that the name of the girl who sits beside her is Tenten. Tenten named herself when she was young. Tenten was a homeless orphan found by the Hyuuga's when she was very little, and has grown up alongside Hinata and Neji. Sakura also learns that Tenten is very good at math, and numerous other subjects, but she just wants to be an _artist_. Tenten says this with a hint of despair, but Sakura doesn't ask. She just tells Tenten that she wants to be a doctor someday, and wishes the brunette luck.

_**Because somehow you know that you're surrounded with people with dreams they can never reach.**_

_But wishing luck helps ease the pain at least a little._

Hinata is also in her math class, but Hinata sits on the opposite side, near a window, where she stares off into space instead of doing her work. Students snicker at her and throw paper balls at her, but she pays them no attention, and Sakura wishes she could be more like Hinata.

* * *

In Japanese class

is Sasuke.

Sasuke

doesn't

say anything

when I enter the

classroom.

He doesn't even

look at me.

He sits there

speaking to

Karin.

_**As though she doesn't have everything already.**_

Neji is

in this class too.

I'm glad that

I know a little more

about him.

Hinata speaks highly

of him.

She says he is

excellent at

the art of

fighting.

Tenten says little

about him

but

I can tell she

cares

by the tone of her

voice.

But when I

enter

the classroom

he glares.

The teacher,

Jiraiya-sensei

writes Japanese novels.

He's kind of

large and

wears rings on

his fingers

and has a red

face.

He sits me next to

a boy with

crimson hair

and stunning eyes.

And when he looks at me

when I sit down

I see that on his forehead

he has the kanji symbol

for

_love._

I look at him

and

say very seriously

"Do you

feel it?"

He just stares.

"Do you feel

love?"

He looks away

silently

and I take that

as a no.

_**Do you want to fly away with me?**_

* * *

Ino

doesn't want to

walk

from her locker

to mine

so

When I finish

at mine

(I'm glad that

none of my teachers have

issued books yet)

I walk to hers

where

Sasuke is

standing aside

waiting for Ino to

leave.

I swallow nervously

and say

"Hello,

Sasuke."

He nods at me

in greeting.

"Ino, are you

almost

finished?"

When school is

over

Ino doesn't even

ask

about the bruises.

She just

accepts that they are

there.

As though

just because I'm Sakura

I'll be coming home

with new bruises

every

day.

_**She causes over half of them.**_

So

I don't

really deliver

Karin's message.

But somehow I don't think

she would really

care.

I think maybe

she might be satisfied

with just

hitting

me.

_**Because you're the world's public punching bag.**_

* * *

Ino leaves me

at her locker

and tells me she's going to a movie

with

Shikamaru and

Chouji

and that I have to

walk home.

And I think that maybe

Chouji is the large boy

from lunch.

So when

Ino leaves

Sasuke just stares.

* * *

When Sakura begins to walk away, something surprising happens.

"Wait."

For a second, Sakura doesn't know whether

he's talking to her

but she

stops

anyways.

Because no one else

is in this hallway

this late

after school.

Sakura turns around to face the boy with a pretty face, and raven's-wing hair, and shining obsidian eyes that look like they've seen too much, and offers him a small smile. He's staring at her, but he doesn't look like he's going to say anything, so she just says, "Goodbye, Sasuke," and continues to walk away.

"Do you...need a ride home?"

Sakura doesn't turn to face him, because she's smiling too widely, but she says in the calmest voice she can manage, "I'm not allowed to ride in cars with sixteen-year-old drivers, except for Ino."

She quickly claps a hand over her mouth and spins around, "Pretend I didn't say that. Ino doesn't want people to know that we live together."

"My car's in the shop," he says in a monotone voice, not showing any acknowledgement to her final comment, "My brother --he's twenty-- is driving."

Sakura thinks that her mother has never told her not to ride in cars where the brothers of sixteen-year-olds, so she just nods, "You don't need to do that. I wouldn't want to intrude."

He stares at her with those shining black eyes, stoic as always

and she thinks that

maybe he

doesn't care about

those sorts of things and that

even if she

was morbidly obese

and had

warts

he would drive her home

because

that's the kind of boy

he is

because

he's an angel

an angel who has just

forgotten how to fly,

so she

accepts his invitation

because

if she had those things

he'd probably be even

more

likely to

take her home.

_**And you have a large forehead and pink hair.**_

As they exit the building, Sasuke brings up something that surprises Sakura.

"You're the one who I'm supposed to be sharing the locker with, right?"

Sakura just stares at him with a soft smile, not quite willing to give Ino up, but not quite willing to give herself up either. He seems to understand, and they remain in comfortable communicative silence even through the car ride, when she meets Itachi for the first time, and when they stop at her house to drop her off.

But Sasuke doesn't

walk her to the door because

Sakura's mother

and father

are

in the window,

kissing and

he doesn't want Sakura to know

that _he_

knows.

And he

understands.

_**But you'll never know.**_

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: So, maybe I update a little too frequently. It's summer though, and I'm bored out of my mind. So...there. :D**_

_**Please review!**_

_**-MT**_

* * *


	4. Look at Me

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Four: Look at Me**_

_She's an extraordinary girl  
in an ordinary world  
and she can't seem to get away  
He lacks the courage in his mind  
like a child left behind  
like a pet left in the rain_

_- "Extraordinary Girl" by Green Day_

* * *

When I wake up

I hurt all over

as though

my insides were trying

so hard to get out

someway

or another

but

they couldn't decide whether to

implode

or

explode.

_**Maybe its your emotions. They're going to get out some way or another, whether its anger at yourself or someone else.**_

Looking in

the mirror

I could see that

the faint bruises

of yesterday were

so dark

they might as well have been

bleeding

on the outside

as well.

_**Because inner wounds can never stay hidden.**_

--

When Sakura gets to her locker a large fist shaped dent has sealed it shut; no matter how many times she tries her locker combination, it refuses to open. She pulls the handle with all her might, shaking it and jiggling it. She doesn't know who she shares a locker with --she's never seen him/her; the locker has nothing but a few textbooks on the bottom shelf from the owner-- but she hopes he/she can get the locker open.

The Biology teacher --she had missed his class yesterday due to the mishap with Karin-- Orochimaru-sensei, is gazing at her through slanted yellow-tinted green eyes, his chapped lips forming a thin line in dismay.

Shortly afterwards, she has found herself in the principal's office, and she wonders how she manages to always find a way in here. After a few minutes, a busty blonde woman that looks much too young for this job sits across from her. She flips through Sakura's file in silence for a minute or two before closing it and looking up.

"Well, I can't say you don't _look_ like a delinquent," Tsunade is the name written on the plate on her desk, "I'll never understand why trouble-makers make their appearance more noticeable instead of toning it down."

_**Maybe it's about escaping from yourself a little bit.**_

Sakura looks up from the floor into the woman's startling amber eyes, "I'm afraid I don't know what you mean."

"Your hair color is the most outrageous shade of pink, and your fashion sense is a little bizarre, to tell you the truth," Tsunade says, crossing her arms across her chest.

_**The more outrageous, the closer you are to being inhuman...do you think she wants to fly away with us?**_

It was true. Sakura's clothes are outdated. Some are too big and others are too small and others are ripped and others are faded. Today she wears a pair of pink pajama shorts (too small to wear on their own) over a pair of black sweats (there's a hole in the seam of the crotch), and an orange tank top (too short) over a red long-sleeved shirt with ripped sleeves (the chest is ripped too), her yellow rain-jacket covering it all. She wears the same ruined Sketchers as always.

"My hair is natural," she says, averting her eyes, "And my clothes don't fit...I need to layer."

Tsunade narrows her eyes, "Your sister, Ino, has perfectly natural coloring and acceptable attire."

_**Ino's perfect. You can't expect me to live up to someone like that.**_

Sakura lifts her eyes to the ceiling and doesn't bother to correct Tsunade. As far as legal issues go, Ino is her sister, bound together by everything but DNA, "I don't think I could explain such a thing without going into genetics and psychology."

She glances back at the principal, "...and how much having people care about you matters."

* * *

Sakura is let off the hook. Tsunade tells her if she is seen exerting some sort of suspicious behavior, she will not be so lenient next time.

Sakura is twenty minutes late to art class, and she stumbles over the door stop on the way in. She gives Kurenai-sensei her tardy slip before slinking into her spot opposite Naruto. She's surprised to see that Hinata is sitting beside her today, and she asks her about it.

"I told Kurenai that the students over where I was sitting were mean to me, and she let me move," Hinata explains softly, "I hope this is okay."

Sakura also learns that Kurenai-sensei is Hinata's godmother, and now guardian as of yesterday morning. Hinata has been disowned by her father, and now lives with Kurenai. Kurenai works two jobs; she is an art teacher during the day and a cash-register worker at the Bigger-Burger at night. Kurenai has told Hinata that as soon as she is sixteen that she will need to apply for a job.

_**Because its the good people who suffer because they're the only ones who can see themselves clearly.**_

Sakura thinks that maybe that explains Hinata's drastic clothing change from the expensive articles of clothing that the Hyuuga family provides to the standard clothing of lower-class citizens.

Today Hinata is better dressed for the weather; the same tattered blue sweatshirt as the day before, a red knee-length pleated skirt barely peaking out beneath it (the uniform skirt from Hinata's old school that she expanded the waist-line in during Home Economics), light-pink leg warmers, and a pair of scuffed Mary Janes.

_**Do you see it now?**_

Naruto smiles and says, "Hinata is good with scissors and thread. To cover up the paint, she sewed these on for me," he points to the blue cuffs of his sleeves, and the bottom and top of his jacket.

Kiba is absent today, and Sakura is thankful. She doesn't want him asking about the new bruises.

_**The inner always comes out, remember that.**_

When the bell rings, Hinata says goodbye and runs from the room. Naruto lingers behind, waiting for Sakura who has English with him. When she has finished cleaning up her art supplies, they leave.

"Teme told me about what happened," Naruto says solemnly, "I feel bad."

Sakura shakes her head and stares at him with confused eyes.

"Sasuke."

She still doesn't understand, "What happened?"

"Karin...you know..."

Sakura understands and nods, "You shouldn't feel bad. I deserved it. I was treading in her territory --I should have known they were dating-"

_**Youdon'tdeserveitNoyoudon't.**_

Naruto laughs incredulously, "Dating? Ha! As if Sasuke would ever date a bitch like that."

"So...they're...not...dating?" she can't help the feeling of joy that inflates inside of her.

"No, no. She's just a jerk."

She smiles, "Oh. That's nice to hear."

_**YoudodeserveitOhyesyoudo.**_

Naruto lays a hand on her shoulder, and Sakura is glad that the bruise that Ino gave her has finally faded and is now just an ugly yellow color. He stares into her eyes very seriously, "Sakura, don't fall in love with him, okay?"

"Ano...I couldn't consider doing something like that. Ino cares for him, and I would never wish inner pain on her," she says, staring at the floor.

She doesn't want Naruto to see how much it pains _her_ to know that everyone is against her.

_**Are you suffering?**_

_**Maybe Karin is too.**_

* * *

When Sakura gets to English, she is curious to see how Sasuke will behave after yesterday. Does he regret helping her? Was she more intrusive than she should have been?

Sakura stops herself and thinks, Sakura is just Sakura, and if Sasuke doesn't like it, then maybe he's not the angel for her.

_**But he's the only one left in the world. The rest have sprouted their wings and flown away.**_

But she thinks that he has to be, even if the odds are stacked so high against her. Because she doesn't need his love or his lust. She just needs his care and his trust, and maybe his angels wings so that he can fly her away from here. Because she just needs _somebody_ to like Sakura for Sakura, because that's all she knows how to be.

_**Can you fly me away from here?**_

And maybe Sasuke just needs to learn to be Sasuke and no one else. And maybe then she will see a smile lighting up his angels countenance.

But when Sakura enters the classroom, Sasuke isn't there, and she feels like her heart has just stopped.

"He's not here today," she says to Naruto, and looks up at him.

He looks somewhat sad, as he has for most of the day so far, "Today is the anniversary of his parents' deaths."

_**Don't cry, Sasuke. They're angels now.**_

"Oh. I see."

The words uttered from her mouth sound uncharacteristically unfeeling, but she can't help it. But the topic of death has always filled her with emptiness, and Hyuuga Neji is glaring at her.

Speaking to him is a boy clad in all green. A forest green jacket and camouflage pants, and even green Converse shoes. His hair is a black and shiny bowl cut, his eyes ridiculously large, giving him a look of innocence.

"Who is this beautiful and youthful flower?" the boy asks aloud, "What is your name?"

It takes Sakura a few moments to realize he is speaking to her, and she says softly, "My name is Haruno Sakura."

"Ah, what a fitting name for a blossom such as yourself! I am Rock Lee," he says courteously, "And I would very much love for you to be my friend!"

Sakura blinks. No one has offered to be her friend before, and it makes her very happy. She nods vigorously, "Arigato, Lee-san."

* * *

Sakura sits under the same tree as before, but today Hinata is immediately by her side.

Ino doesn't speak to her on the way.

Sakura is tired today, and doesn't feel like eating. She props herself up against the tree bark, and begins to doze off. Before she can quite reach dream-land, she is startled awake by the sound of Hinata's stomach.

The pale navy-haired girl offers a sheepish smile. She's clutching her stomach, her face a light pink.

Sakura gives her a smile, and blearily rummages through her backpack, giving her friend the untouched lunch she had made for herself.

_**Take me away.**_

Hinata gives her a beautiful and charming grin, and Sakura gives her a tired one in response, before delving into the twist of purples and blacks that are sleep.

* * *

Sakura follows Hinata to Speech, not quite awake yet. In the hall, she passes Ino, who is speaking to Shikamaru. The blonde suddenly halts in the middle of her sentence, and gives Sakura a menacing glare.

_**Does she envy you for what you have?**_

The tired girl isn't awake enough to understand, and simply stares at the ground for the remainder of the passing-period.

Gai-sensei begins the class by telling everyone to write down a debate topic on an index card, one that needs no research, and to turn it. After several minutes, everyone has completed the task, and Gai-sensei calls Hinata and Gaara up to the front.

Sakura realizes that Gaara is the boy from her Japanese class --the one with the fiery-red hair and the sea-foam colored eyes.

_**Everything about him says 'Love me.'**_

Gai-sensei laughs boisterously, and tells Hinata to select one of the cards. Red-faced and embarrassed, she takes one.

"Which do you choose?"

Hinata's voice is uncharacteristically high, "Short hair."

"How adorably youthful!" Gai explodes with happiness, "Gaara-kun, you will be defending long hair. Begin!"

"I think short hair is more convenient...It's light and doesn't get in the way a lot..." Hinata says softly.

Gaara is momentarily silent, before murmuring in a smooth, deep voice, "Long hair is...admirable. If one can keep it in good shape, then that shows that they know how to take good care of themselves, and that they are aware of their appearance."

"Ano...that is true, Gaara-san..."

"Continue," Gai-sensei urges her, "Don't give up yet, Hinata-chan. Giving up is no sign of youth."

_**Don't give up. Don't give up. Don't give...**_

Sakura thinks that maybe Gai-sensei is quite similar to Lee in her English class, in both looks and personality, and she wonders if they are related.

"Um..." the poor white-eyed girl trembles with nervousness, while the red-headed boy gazes at her coolly, "You can tell that...people with short hair...are aware of their appearances...because they take the time to cut it frequently...?"

"Good, Hinata-chan. Next time say it with more conviction! Like you really mean it! Like you know you're right, and you are going to prove it! Yosh!"

Gaara's eyes come to rest on Sakura, "People with long hair are attractive."

Sakura thinks that maybe she should be blushing, his piercing gaze choosing her as a target, but she doesn't, and she doesn't feel the urge to. She thinks he must not be thinking of her, even if he _is_ looking at her, because she is far from attractive.

_**Pink hair. Large forehead. Wide eyes. Dark bruises.**_

"Gaara-san, people with short hair can be attractive too," Hinata protests, "That is a matter of opinion."

Sakura knows that Hinata's hair is short, and that she is worrying about her appearance.

"Hinata-chan is correct," Gai-sensei concludes, "She wins this debate."

A small, triumphant smile breaks out onto Hinata's countenance.

_**Does she feel loved?**_

* * *

Sakura feels odd, changing in a room full of girls she doesn't really know.

"I don't know _why_ he likes her," Sakura hears Ami murmuring into the ear of Karin, "She's not even attractive; she has a wide forehead, and pink hair. It's pink! And she has such small boobs-"

Ami cuts off mid-sentence when Sakura catches the gazes of the two girls speaking of her.

Sakura pulls her tank-top over her head and tugs her Sketchers back on before exiting the room, leaving everyone behind.

She imagines that suddenly, her wings begin to sprout, and she will fly high above the girls who insult her and speak badly of her, and they will think that she is beautiful, because while she has smaller breasts than the other girls, she has larger wings, and she _would_ be beautiful...

Ino is the only other girl in the gymnasium when Sakura gets there. Ino speaks to her excitedly in a hushed voice, telling her that she skipped the previous class to make out with Shikamaru, and that she thinks he is going to ask her to be his girlfriend soon. Sakura smiles and wishes her good luck, but suddenly Ino's mood turns sour.

"Of course, you must be so envious of me, Sakura. I'm sorry to have even brought it up, seeing as no one will _ever_ love you as they love me. Jealousy is unbecoming of you, Sakura."

And while Sakura doesn't remember feeling jealousy, she looks at the ground, ashamed, as says, "Gomen, Ino."

_**Youdon'tdeserveitYoudon'tdeserveit.**_

_**YoudeserveitYoudeserveit.**_

* * *

When class starts, Sakura finds out that the real coach is Anko-sensei. They had a substitute before. Anko-sensei tells them to split up into teams for soccer, and she selects Ami, and a girl Sakura doesn't recognize, named Kin to be team captains. Kin has long black hair and dark eyes, and an unkind look to her.

The selection begins, and before long, Sakura is the only remaining student who hasn't been chosen.

"Anko-sensei! The teams are even, but there's still someone left!"

Anko-sensei stares at Sakura, a student unfamiliar to her. Sakura is sure she must not look very capable of playing sports, with her bruises and lanky disposition.

"Haruno, you'll keep score with me."

* * *

I've decided that

I really

don't like

P.E.

Anko-sensei

is

nice enough,

but

no one else

is.

The end of

the day

doesn't seem to come

fast enough.

But,

when it does

I'm not as happy

as I thought I'd be.

When

I go

to my locker,

for once I get there

fast enough

to meet the person

whom I share

it with.

He is a boy

my age, with

ink-black hair

and

depthless

black eyes.

When he

sees me, he says

"You're ugly."

But

I don't think

he meant it

unkindly.

In fact,

I don't think

he really meant

anything

at all.

Ino

doesn't drive me home

today,

either.

She is going to the mall with

Shika-kun,

and she wants me to

find a way home

again.

* * *

On Sakura's way out of the building, she is stopped by Neji, who glares at her spitefully.

"Haruno, I've seen you hanging around my cousin, Hinata."

Sakura doesn't break her gaze away from the floor as she nods in reply.

"She may not be living under the same roof as me any longer, and she may no longer be part of my family, but to me, she still is part of it, and I still have a duty to keep her safe. You'd better not hurt her in any way, Haruno."

Sakura looks up at him, her green eyes sad, "Gomen, Neji-san."

_**Does she know she's loved?**_

* * *

Today, there is no one to give Sakura a ride home, and she lives fifteen minutes away from the school. She doesn't think she can walk that far, but she hopes that maybe she can stop somewhere when she gets tired and maybe eat or sit for awhile. She still has the ten dollars her grandmother gave her for her birthday that she puts in her pocket every day in case of emergency.

Sakura is afraid of walking across the large roads, so she takes neighborhood routes instead. She passes through a park, a church parking lot, several front yards, and finally, a cemetery.

Sakura has never liked cemeteries. They make her wonder how people become angels if their bodies are here, beneath her. Are their souls in Heaven, and their bodies in Hell?

She stops walking when she sees someone familiar kneeling before a stone tablet. She comes to a stop behind him, and looks down at the epitaph.

_Uchiha Mikoto_

_**Prince.**_

Sakura thinks that Mikoto is a fitting name for the mother of an angel.

Beside it is another gravestone.

_Uchiha Fugaku._

_**A tutor to a prince. A framed picture. Negative. Captive. Pawn.**_

Sakura kneels beside the boy, and she briefly wonders where his brother is.

"Does it hurt?" she asks softly.

His eyes briefly flicker to her face before going back to their resting place on his parents' graves.

"Very much," he replies, his tone equally soft, "Do you think that they're...you know...up there?"

She looks at him for a long time before answering, "Without a doubt."

He pauses for a second before nodding.

"How long have you been here?" she asks, "You missed school, today."

"I'm not sure," he says, "Why are you here?"

"I walked."

He looks at her for the first time today, and actually sees her. He gently touches her cheek with the back of his hand, and traces the lines of her bruises. She remains perfectly still.

"Will you fly me away from here?" she asks, her eyes imploring.

He drops his hand, "What?"

"A boy with a pale face, white as stone but full of light. Dark eyes that can view a person's very soul. Tall and statuesque.

You're the

epitome of

an angel."

He is silent for a few moments before finally saying, "I'm no angel."

The dark grey clouds

begins to

leak

silver pellets

of rain

streaking across the sky like

bullets.

And Sakura thinks that

maybe

he's not ready for her yet.

She stands, and touches his shoulder so briefly, and so lightly, he's not sure whether she did it at all.

"It's okay. I can wait," she says brightly, despite the empty feeling in her chest.

He doesn't respond, but gazes steadily at her, trying to understand.

And he's sees that

she not crazy

she just...

hopeful.

After a bit of silence, he turns to her and says, "Do you want some accompaniment home?"

Because its dark and rainy, and he doesn't think that she should need to walk home alone. He may not be an angel, but she's still angelic in his eyes.

And he doesn't think he can take anymore loneliness today.

* * *

"You dress strangely," Sasuke points out. He doesn't mean it rudely; it's just a fact.

Sakura looks up at him, and for the first time, she realizes his true height. He's a little under a foot taller than her.

"I work with what I have," she murmurs.

Neither of them seem to care that the rain is pelting them, soaking them to the bone. Because he is Sasuke and she is Sakura and all they want is to _get away_, and everything else is just part of a world that they'll one day leave behind.

"It's supposed to snow tomorrow," he says, looking up at the cloudy sky.

And the light is _dimmingdimmingdimming_

and he thinks that

even though the air is

so damn chilling

he feels the warmest he has in a

_longlonglonglong_ time.

_**Do you feel it too?**_

"Snow is just rain that's a little bit colder and a little bit harder to break," she says, a smile on her face, and she dances in the rain, her too-small shoes squelching in little pools of water, and he can't help the small smile that comes to his face

because suddenly

today isn't

so

sad.

"Wear a coat tomorrow."

Sakura stops spinning and looks at Sasuke's stern expression.

She realizes that they're in front of her house

and suddenly

walking home

didn't seem so

bad.

"I don't have a coat," she says, still smiling, "Except for this one."

She motions to the bright yellow raincoat she wears every day with the missing buttons and no hood, that doesn't match anything, and looks _completely ridiculous_ but she loves it and wears it anyway.

"Hn," he seems to be thinking deeply, "Goodbye, Sakura."

"Goodbye, Sasuke," she says, before skipping up the steps of her house that Sasuke still doesn't walk up

because

in the window

Sakura's parents are

screaming

at each other

and he

doesn't want her to see

how sad

it makes him.

So he walks away.

Sort of

wishing that he could

take Sakura

and

fly away.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Blah.**_

_**A/N: A little bit of a longer wait, and a little bit of a longer chapter. It took me awhile to get it how I liked it, and I'm still not particularly proud of it. I've never been one for 'incidental run-ins' in stories, where someone just so happens to meets up with the person they have a crush on. But then I realized how often I see people I know in public places, and I thought that maybe I could get away with it just this once (since Sakura doesn't so much have a crush on him, but has something stronger in a sense...).**_

_**Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews! I look forward to getting more of them. ;D They keep me going, and they keep my fingers moving.**_

_**-MT**_


	5. Cut Short

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Five: Cut Short**_

_Got my sights locked in and I can see you breathe  
Then I watched you fall and somebody scream  
It's the saddest thing when angels fly away_

_- "When Angels Fly Away" by Cold_

* * *

Waking up

isn't fun

after

staying out

in the cold rain

for nearly an hour

the night before.

The first thing I hear

when I leave the

sanctuary of my

room

is

my mother and

father

fighting with each other.

_**The same screams you hear in your dreams.**_

I walk in

just as

my mother raises

her hand to

slap

my father

but he

grabs her wrist

tightly.

So tightly

that she

winces.

_**Dreams of moans and groans and screams and anguish and love and passion and life and death...**_

I ask a question

that I don't think I

want

to know the answer to

but

I probably

should,

bringing them

back

to the real world

with a

jolt.

"Are you two

going to

split up?"

Simultaneously

my father says

"Of course not,

sweetie,"

and my mother says

"It's a distinct

possibility."

And that's

really

all I need to

hear.

I put on a

light blue oxford

blouse.

I hope that it will

appease Tsunade

at least a little.

But,

it is too small

and I need to fold and button

the sleeves back

once to

make them seem not so

short.

_**You're better off than some people, remember that.**_

I put on my

denim skirt that was a

hand-me-down

from my

mother

in her slimmer years.

My clothes

don't really match

my shoes

but I hope that

maybe

knee-high socks will

make that

less apparent.

_**What are looks worth when others don't even get fed?**_

* * *

When Sakura is about to put on her yellow rain jacket by the door, Ino is already standing there, kicking a box.

"You got a package," the blonde says, before unwrapping it. She gasps as she pulls out a fancy black leather jacket with faux-fur lining the inside, "Who would send something like this to _you_?"

_**Because you **__**don'tdeserveit.**_

Ino fishes around inside the box and pulls out a card.

_Stay warm_

_-Sasuke_

Ino scowls, "Well obviously he meant it for me, even if he did put _your_ name on the package. He must have not known that we live together, and just thought that since we carpool that you could deliver it to me."

_**Does she feel loved? Is the feeling fading?**_

Ino pulls on the new coat, wrapping a periwinkle scarf around her neck, and walks out the front door shouting back at Sakura, "And you can find your own damned way to school!"

Sakura smiles softly, staring out at the window where the snow was just beginning to fall, white and soft as an angel's feather. She imagines she is soaring through the clouds. The higher she gets, the more snow begins to stick her feathered wings, and begins to weigh her down. Just as she is about to break through to the heavens, her mother's tired voice rings out to her, and her wings are so piled thick with snow that she falls back to earth, "Sakura, honey, you should probably be leaving for school or you'll be late."

The pink-haired girl steps out into the cold, her thin mustard-yellow jacket wrapped tightly around her.

Sakura feels like crying. Walking wasn't as much fun when you didn't have anyone walking with you.

_**You can't get attached. Nothing lasts forever.**_

_**Your parents relationship is proof of that, if nothing else.**_

* * *

The locker that Ino and Sasuke share is on the way to Sakura's first period, and Sasuke is there when she passes by.

"Sakura."

Sasuke is staring at her with his beautiful black eyes and his pretty face, an indescribable expression on his countenance, an epitaph upon stone, and it takes Sakura a few moments to realize that he is looking at the yellow jacket she's wearing, and she knows he has seen Ino, who is walking away, wearing the black leather jacket that will always make her think of him.

_**Even long after he's gone --because soon he will be. Because no angel will wait for you forever.**_

And then Sasuke is directly in front of her, gazing into her shining green eyes that look like they don't see anything, but he knows see _everything_, and he's once again tracing the lines of the slightly swollen purple bruises that are her face, but Sakura doesn't look back because in the distance she can see Karin

who is standing still,

just

staring

at them.

And Sakura thinks that maybe

that's a tear

she sees,

rolling down the girl's cheek

before

she walks away.

_**Does she suffer?**_

_**Will it ever stop?**_

When she comes back to herself, Sakura realizes that Sasuke isn't touching her anymore; he's walking away in the opposite direction from where she's to be going, and she sort of wonders what just happened.

* * *

Karin doesn't show up to first period.

Today, they learn more about the great Namikaze Minato, and Sakura establishes a great respect for the man, and she wonders about his family.

_**Disappear. Start a new life.**_

If she were to disappear, who would notice? Would she get a line written about _her?_

Sakura doesn't think so.

* * *

Neither Sasuke

nor Karin

is in Biology

when class starts.

When I sit

in the same spot

as I had attempted

the day before the previous

Gaara is immediately

by my side.

He

says nothing

but

he stares at me blankly

with his

vibrantly colored eyes.

_**The color of a rainy summer's day.**_

Kin

and a girl that

I do not recognize

are

turned around in their seats

and are

staring and

whispering about us.

"Do _you_

feel it?"

Surprised,

I turn in my seat

and

the crimson-haired boy's gaze is

so desperate

for a moment that I just

want to

hold him and

tell him that it will

be okay.

_**Even though it isn't.**_

"Do you feel

love?"

I stare at him

a moment longer,

before

locking my gaze

onto my brown wooden desk.

A minute later

I

turn back to him and

just smile.

_**Youdon'tdeserveit.**_

There is

a loud smack

as a ruler

is slapped down

against my desk,

and I jump.

"If you two

lovebirds are

finished,

could you tell me

what part of the ear

it is

that

controls motion sensory?"

The door opens

and

Sasuke walks in

and

the attention of

Orochimaru-sensei is

averted.

_**Humanity, always fruitlessly trying to pair up members of society.**_

* * *

"Why don't you say something, bitch?"

Hinata's head jerks to the left as Karin's hand comes in contact with her cheek.

"You're supposed to be the great Hyuuga heiress, aren't you? How is a failure like you supposed to be so great? You're pathetic!"

The redhead lifts her hand and clenches it into a fist, before aiming it at the smaller girl's stomach.

Hinata keeps her eyes shut tightly, wincing in preparation for the blow. There is a resounding smack that lingers in the air for a moment, but Hinata feels no pain. She opens her eyes slowly, one at a time.

Sakura has enclosed her own hand around Karin's fist.

"So what, Hina-chan? Are you going to let another failure protect you? Are you going to let Saku-chan get punished in your place?"

Karin raises her other hand and smacks Sakura roughly across the face, sending her to the linoleum floor.

"Psh. Can't even protect herself."

The redhead stalks over to where Hinata stands, trembling with tears in her eyes. She aims another fist at the girl.

Sakura stands in between the girls, her arms outstretched to the sides to prevent the girl from passing, blood trickling from the corner of her lips.

"S-Sakura!" Hinata squeaks.

Sakura peeks back at the blue-haired girl, a smirk on her face, "I don't let my precious people get hurt."

Karin hits Sakura in the stomach, knocking the girl back a few steps, but the pink-haired girl does not back down. Karin hits her again in the jaw.

"How does it feel to know that your precious Sasuke won't even protect you?" the girl sneers, clenching her fingers around the pale green-eyed girl's throat.

Suddenly, Karin is on the floor, in pain, and Gaara is in between her and Sakura. Sakura hugs the crying Hinata to her chest, murmuring softly to her as Gaara kicks Karin in the side.

"Gaara, please stop!" Sakura exclaims, her brittle voice cracking as the tears spring to her eyes as well.

People have gathered all around and are murmuring to each other and shouting in encouragement.

A whiskered-looking face appears among the crowd, and immediately the blonde boy's hand is on Gaara's shoulder, firmly holding him back.

"Gaara. Stop."

Naruto and the crimson-haired boy slink back, disappearing into the crowd and reappearing on the other side. Eventually the group of bystanders dwindles and then completely vanishes, Ami pulling Karin away sometime in the middle.

Sasuke is at the end of the hallway, just watching the pink-haired girl hold the smaller girl tightly.

And Sakura

watches right back.

And then Sasuke just

walks away.

* * *

Hinata goes home for the day. Kurenai takes her home and misses the first half of her after-lunch class.

No one sees what happens to Karin.

Sakura sits in front of Tsunade's desk, holding a cold compress that the nurse named Shizune handed her when she entered against her bruised face that has swollen up again.

"I warned you, Sakura."

Sakura wants to tell Tsunade that it wasn't her fault, that she didn't even throw a punch, that she just stood there to keep Hinata from getting hurt, and that all this time it has been Karin…

But she keeps her mouth shut.

"I don't want to have to punish you, Sakura. You seem like a bright girl, but you lack the motivation do to good things. Why would you go after Karin? She's such a nice girl; she wouldn't hurt a fly."

_**No one understands.**_

Sakura trembles. Tsunade doesn't understand.

Sakura stands, her bangs hiding her face, her fists clenched at her sides, "It's not my fault! She was hurting Hinata! And Hinata doesn't…Hinata doesn't..." her voice starts as a shout but fades to a whisper, "She doesn't deserve it."

Tsunade purses her lips and crosses arms over her chest, waiting for Sakura to calm down. When Sakura resumes her sitting position with her head down and her long hair pooling into her lap, she speaks, "I'll have the counselor look back over the tapes on the security camera. I'll get back to you. We've called your mother, and she's coming to pick you up."

Sakura sniffs, and smiles slightly, "Arigato."

* * *

As soon as she gets home, Sakura goes to her room, not bothering to shed her rain jacket or her shoes. She just drops her book bag and crawls under her bed, making herself as small as possible, not caring how uncomfortable the position is, or how dusty the hardwood floor is.

Because she can feel things on all sides of her.

And it feels great.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. Naruto does not belong to me. Blargh.**_

_**A/N: So yeah. Sorry about the sucky chapter. And some of you won't be able to review because you reviewed when I had the Author's Note chapter up...But anyways, if for some reason you didn't read the Author's Note I had up, the delay was due to my old computer failing to work anymore…And my stupid Microsoft Word SUCKS. It's a different year than the one on my old computer, so it does different things and it looks different, and AUGH!**_

_**But yeah.**_

_**Anyways, please review!**_

_**And can you believe it? My story got put into a C2! That's radtastic! Oh, and also it's on 30 people's alerts list! I love you, you guys!**_

_**-MT**_


	6. Caring is Sharing

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Six: Caring is Sharing**_

_Please come now; I think I'm falling.  
I'm holding onto all I think is safe.  
It seems I've found the road to nowhere  
and I'm trying to escape._

_- "One Last Breath" by Creed_

* * *

When Sakura wakes up, she is confused.

Something is over her, and something is under her, and something is behind her, and she can see the bottom of her door, and the light is on, and she can feel that she is still fully clothed, and that her greasy hair is matted to her face, and that her leg is asleep, and she feels great and terrible all at once. She blinks a few times before realizing that she is underneath her bed –somewhere she hasn't hidden since she was little, back when she was smaller and she could fit better.

A couple of feet away, a tray with a bowl and a glass on it sits. Sakura reaches for the glass, and drinks the water inside, not caring that it is dripping down her chin as she gulps it down hastily. She crawls out from underneath the bed, letting the empty glass roll on the floor.

She's tired and sore, but she doesn't feel like sleeping. She feels like crying and like laughing and maybe a little bit like dying, but she won't do any of those things because she feels like she did something _goodgoodgoodgood_, even if she gets punished for it. Instead, she walks to the solitary window, and presses her palm to the cool glass.

_**No good deed goes unpunished.**_

It's dark outside, and the streetlight at the corner is illuminating half of her front yard, where the grass is glittering because it rained and now there's wind, and the over-grown blades of grass are flowing like rolling waves of water. Sakura decides she wants to go to the ocean, because she can remember living by the beach, when her mother and father loved and laughed, and Ino wasn't afraid to be seen with her in public, and they would giggle and comb each other's hair, and it was _life_.

_**More than this half-life you call your existence.**_

Sakura opens the window, and pushes it up as high as it will go. The mesh wire screen is long gone, having been since the family moved in. The pink-haired girl climbs out, and sits out on the front curb, curling into a ball, resting her chin on her knees. She closes her eyes and imagines she's at the beach. That she's in her bathing suit. That her toes are buried in the sand.

She doesn't know how long she sits out there in that beach that only exists in her memory, but when she climbs back through the window, she's exhausted, and she falls into bed and falls asleep still fully dressed.

* * *

When I walk by

Sasuke's and Ino's locker

Sasuke is there

once again.

He sees me pass by

--his eyes flicker towards me,

but

they immediately flicker away

as though I

wasn't even there.

_**Did he ever **__**really**__** see you?**_

And I guess,

that's maybe how it was supposed to be

because

he was beautiful

and I was…

not.

_**Did he?**_

* * *

For the next month, everything went by similarly. Gaara and Hinata followed Sakura around, beside her between each class and during every period they had together. Naruto was there to speak to her and try to make her laugh during Art and English. Kiba was there to ask about the bruises and give her funny looks. Karin and Ami were there, but never directly harming anyone, as they were on watch by Tsunade, and Shikamaru was where Ino was, and Tenten was always there in body but rarely there in mind. Rock Lee gave her smiles and proclamations of youth and Kin gave her dirty looks and Ino gave her bruises and Neji gave her stern looks and watchful glances. Everyone was there in her life some way or another, except for a pale faced boy with pretty black eyes and raven's wing hair.

Sakura's parents continued to scream and shout at each other by day, and cry and moan at night for all together different reasons.

But whenever Sakura dreamed, it was still of angels with crumpled wings giving her rides and walking her home and giving her gifts, just to watch as demons clawed at her and then turn away with a smirk and the words that followed her around, though they were never said.

_**You're annoying.**_

* * *

It is winter break, and that meant that it would be Christmas soon. And to Sakura, that meant cleaning her closet of everything she couldn't wear or couldn't use, and selling it for enough cash to get her parents and Ino gifts.

She pulls together a pile of clothing and a few never-used birthday presents from relatives she doesn't know, and even some things that she loves and would _nevernevernever_ give away, but is going to anyway, because the blouse that Ino wanted from the store costs sixty dollars, and Sakura wants her to be happy.

_**Would she extend the same courtesy to you, do you think?**_

At the bottom of a box of knick-knacks she finds a piece of folded up paper that says _'To: Santa'_ on it.

_Santa,_

_I've been a good girl this year. I shared my juice with a girl during snack time yesterday, I swear._

_For Christmas I think I'd like a dolly, and maybe some angel wings, so that I can fly away when the bigger kids are making fun of my forehead._

_Thank you!_

_-Sakura_

Sakura smiles.

* * *

As Sakura walks, she sees a box on the curb in front of the 'Kwick Kar' gas station. The box says in thick black letters 'Free Puppies.' She peers inside the box and sees that there are four small pugs, probably not even a month old.

"Do you want one or not?" says the old man sitting in a lawn chair beside the box.

_**Why doesn't **__**he**__**? Separating a family no matter how small is cruel.**_

Sakura stares at the man whose face is haggard and brown and spotted, and he has little crows-feet on either side of his beady black eyes, and an x-shaped scar on his chin.

"Perhaps," she murmurs, and smiles tentatively, "I'll be back."

Because she wants one, but she doesn't think she can care for something when she can't even care for herself.

* * *

Sakura hands over the last of her items to the man at the pawn shop, taking the two-hundred dollars from his palm.

"You'd better be intending on spending some of that money on yourself," the man's eyes crinkle at the corners when he smiles at her, and she smiles back, though hers is meek and guilty, because he has no idea how much she wants to.

As she nears the box of puppies, she sees someone she thinks she recognizes, but she's not totally sure because it's always confusing to see a teacher outside of school. Kakashi-sensei in a pair of cargo pants and a forest-green turtle-neck sweater is picking up the last dog remaining from the box, and the man in the lawn chair is leaving.

Kakashi turns at her approaching footsteps, and he offers her a smile, "Hello, Sakura."

Sakura is startled, because she didn't think he knew who she was, and she offers him a smile, "Hello, Kakashi-sensei."

"What are you doing out today? Christmas shopping?" he asks lightheartedly.

She nods slowly, "I was going to buy a present for Ino."

"Would you mind if I accompanied you?"

_**Do you think he cares?**_

"Go ahead," though she is confused, because by the looks of her teacher's black and shiny polished shoes, he must be pretty well-off, so why would he spend his time with her?

But when they go through the market, Kakashi-sensei makes good conversation, even when Sakura doesn't know what to say, though he obviously doesn't find the need to fill every moment with speech. Kakashi buys a light blue speckled silk scarf and an expensive necklace, while Sakura buys the blouse that Ino wanted, a new thermos for her father (his old one is leaky now), and soles for her mother's worn-and-torn shoes.

"Do you mind if we go in here quickly?" Kakashi-sensei asks, motioning to a sales stall in which the merchant is selling items for pets.

Sakura shakes her head; she thinks Kakashi-sensei's new dog is quite adorable, and she's happy that he is buying things for his pup instead of treating it poorly, unlike the boys in her neighborhood who steal them from people's front lawns to light them on fire.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you going to name your dog?" she asks him, meekly; she doesn't know whether or not he will get mad at her for speaking to him without being spoken to.

_**Carecarecare just a little.**_

"Call me Kakashi, Sakura. And I haven't decided. Give an old man some ideas?" he asks, picking out a plain leather navy-blue collar and leash for the dog in his arms.

Sakura shrugs a little and picks up a bag of puppy food, "Koinu?"

"That's not very creative. Come on, Sakura. I've seen your art; Kurenai has shown it to me. I know you've got a creative mind."

Sakura blushes, and looks at the ground, because she's never been any good at taking praise in any form, and she doesn't say anything in reply. Kakashi seems to understand he's made her uncomfortable and changes the subject, "So, what do you like to do?"

Sakura looks up at him again, "I like to listen to my mother sing while she sculpts. She makes tiny clay fairies and Christmas ornaments for money."

_**It's never enough.**_

Kakashi seems thoughtful, "That's a nice hobby. Most girls your age would enjoy going to the mall or playing videogames or something, wouldn't they?"

Sakura tilts her head curiously, "Would they? I wouldn't know."

Kakashi continues in thoughtful silence as he purchases his findings. After several minutes he looks down at her with a bright smile on his face, though she can't really see it through that strange mask he keeps on his face, "Would you like some dango?"

She looks up from her shoes that aren't keeping her feet quite as warm as she would have liked, and sees her teacher motioning to a food stand nearby. She thinks that perhaps she has just enough money for one set of dumplings, and her stomach sort of aches from hunger, but she also thinks that she needs to save up her money because she needs a new pair of socks. So she lies, "I'm not hungry."

But he's already heard her stomach grumble several times, and he won't take no for an answer, "It's my treat. Come on."

Sakura nervously follows behind him, thinking of nice people and how immediately Naruto and Hinata and Gaara and Lee had taken to her, and maybe one other person who she doesn't like to think about but she does anyway who had angels wings but he kept them for himself, but maybe he didn't and just gave them to somebody else.

_**You're annoying.**_

And when Kakashi hands her the skewered dumplings, she thinks she hasn't been this happy since.

* * *

Kakashi leaves Sakura at the end of her street by her request. He doesn't ask why and she doesn't tell him. But as he's leaving she says, "Pakkun. Name the dog Pakkun."

And so he does.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: (keyboard dodge) I know some of you are going to hate me for that, but I just wanted to point out that this IS a SasuSaku, so there's nothing to worry about. I'm being cliché and stupid and stuff, and you can't stop me. And I wanted to point out, since a couple of people have mentioned this, that when I run words together when I italicize them, that IS intentional. And the bolded and italicized lines are Inner Sakura. Yeah…**_

_**AND HOLY CRAP! 21 REVIEWS FOR ONE CHAPTER! I have never gotten that much of a positive response! You guys are great, and I love you, I love you, I love you! Marry me!**_

_**Please review, dudes. :D**_

_**-MT**_


	7. Tick Tock Goes the Clock

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Seven: Tick Tock Goes the Clock**_

_Risk something, take back what's yours  
Say something you know they might attack you for  
'Cause I'm sick of being treated like have before  
Like I'm stupid standing for what I'm standing for_

_- "Hands Held High" by Linkin Park_

* * *

It's Christmas

Eve.

Ino and the neighborhood children are

going caroling.

They make me nervous because

I've seen what they do

when

things don't go their way

or

when they're just plain

bored

but

I go anyways,

because my mother and father

aren't speaking to each other today.

The stress

is nearly unbearable.

We walk around the block

starting at the house furthest away.

Things start out smoothly

at first.

We carol

tunelessly and

the neighbors at least

pretend

to listen, but…

When we get to a house where

we can see the light is on and

the TV is booming,

and we ring the doorbell,

the curtain shuffles for a second.

A man peers through

and suddenly

the lights inside are all off

the television is silent.

_**Hide and seek.**_

The kids become rowdy.

Someone curses.

"That

bastard!"

A boy

probably just a little

older than I am

unzips the backpack

he wears.

He pulls out rolls of toilet paper and

cans of spray paint.

Ino laughs,

grabs a roll,

and soon the trees are white

as a winter wonderland.

_**I'm dreaming of a white Christmas.**_

I don't like what they are doing

and I

stay a few feet from the curb,

watching the dark figures that

blend into the shadows,

flickering

and laughing.

Kin's arm becomes a blur

as she sprays the words

"Fuck you, Mr. Scrooge."

The front door slams open and

I hear the cock of a shotgun.

"Get off of

my lawn,

bitches!"

Suddenly,

the children's laughs

begin to sound like the laughs of

demons,

when someone I identify as

Dosu

Kin's boyfriend,

throws a rock

at the disgruntled

overweight

man.

Flickering black shapes

a startled cry

the crack of the gun.

Ino screams

the younger kids are crying

and Dosu

is no more.

The kids remaining

begin to run.

_**Every man for himself.**_

To stay behind

would mean taking the blame

for something you did,

when you just want to forget.

Only Kin

remains behind,

crying.

No one attempts to get her to run with them.

_**Say goodbye, little girl.**_

* * *

"Where were you?" Sakura's mother asks, her hands on her hips.

Ino, who's still shaking, says wearily, "Out."

Sakura's mother narrows her eyes, "_Where. Were. You."_

"We went for a walk. We thought we heard a gunshot and we ran," Ino says softly, her limp hands at her side twitching.

It doesn't seem like the woman is really listening, "Sit down, you two. Your father and I have something to talk to you about."

Sakura clenches and unclenches her hands into fists. Do they know? Do they know what happened, and that it's _all their fault?_

_**RunRunAway, oh God, JustRun.**_

For the first time, Sakura and Ino notice their father sitting on the sofa a few feet away, his head in his hands. Sakura's mother sits beside him, and motions for the girls to sit on the loveseat across from them. She takes something from Sakura's father's lap, "Whose are these?"

Silence reigns over the room for several long seconds.

"What are they?" Ino asks, her voice shaking, her fingers fiddling with the fabric of her rumpled miniskirt.

Sakura knows what they are. She's seen the girls in the locker room showing them off, and she's seen commercials for them on television back when they had one.

"Birth control pills," Sakura says, her voice only a breath, but the whole room hears it.

"Whose are these?" Sakura's mother repeats, staring at Sakura, who's too busy trying to avoid Ino's stare.

_**Oh, please don't lie.**_

"They're Sakura's, mom," Ino blurts, "I was there when she got them…I didn't want to say anything, but…"

Sakura's father's shoulders sag and she feels her own do the same.

…How could Ino…?

"Who is he?" Sakura's father asks gruffly, his voice strained, "Who is the boy?"

_**Someone, **__**look**__** at you.**_

Sakura trembles, unable to say anything. Ino seems more comfortable now. When Sakura doesn't answer, her mother says, "Ino, who is the boy?"

Ino looks off to the side, trying her hardest to think of a name through the muddled panic and fleeting guilt, and clenches her fist, "His name is Uchiha Sasuke."

And suddenly Sakura can't stay in there anymore; she walks out, ignoring the protests of her parents as she climbs out of her bedroom window and runs.

_**RunRunAway, oh God, JustRun.**_

* * *

I wasn't sure

but

I thought that maybe

this had to be the

hardest

thing

that I had

ever

done.

I threw

my belongings

into a backpack

and

walked out the door

not quite bothering to

shut it behind me.

Maybe so that

there was at least

a little

proof

that I had

existed.

No matter how

temporary.

So I walked

towards an unknown destination.

Counting my steps to

drown out my thoughts,

but

I wanted to

run.

And soon

I was just a kid

with

no identity.

A child

without a name

running through the streets

of Konoha.

But

I stumbled

on a crack in the unlevel pavement.

And there

he was.

A meter away

with his

expressionless,

pretty face and his

startling

onyx eyes that said

"Turn back"

So I

do.

_**Wake up, dear. It's morning.**_

* * *

Sakura wakes up in the front yard. Her eyes are bleary and crusted shut with dried tears, and her face feels raw.

It's Christmas.

Sakura climbs sorely back through the open window. As she crawls through, she slips on something resting on the inner windowsill, and she stumbles into the side of her bed, whatever it was that was on the sill flying to her feet.

It is a small flimsy-something, wrapped in light green wrapping paper with a white piece of ribbon tied around it, a small card attached.

_Sakura,_

_Merry Christmas,_

_Kakashi._

She shivers a bit, and she's not sure whether it's because her clothes are damp from the morning dew and the window is open, letting a cool breeze in, or if it's because she's giddy. But she timidly unwraps the small gift from a teacher she hardly knows, hoping that maybe it's a pair of socks because she had to spend the last of her money paying the toll for the bus to get home from the library two days ago.

It's not a pair of socks.

She smiles a little bit, but at the same time she doesn't want to because it makes her feel like her face is going to crack, and she pulls out the piece of fabric from inside.

It's the light blue speckled scarf that Kakashi had bought when they had shopped together. It feels so soft between her dirtied fingertips, but she doesn't want to touch it so that she doesn't tarnish it, and she's _sososo__**so**__**happy**_, because someone remembered her today, and she briefly wonders if he came before or after she fell asleep.

_**He could have been an angel.**_

_Maybe in a past life._

Because angels don't stay on Earth long enough to give not-so-little girls Christmas presents, and they don't have pet dogs from the Free Puppies box on the street corner named Pakkun.

_**How would you know? Angels come in all sorts of packages.**_

Because maybe giving a not-so-little girl hope that someone remembers she exists, and saving a young puppy named Pakkun from the possibility of a cruel home is exactly what an angel would do.

Or maybe there are just kind people in the world.

Sakura hopes so.

She tucks the card into the folds of the beautiful silk scarf and puts it under her pillow where she hopes no one will find it.

_**Listen.**_

Sakura does listen, and she hears her father using the telephone in the hallway.

"I don't want your no-good-brother coming anywhere near my Sakura again, you hear? She's too young for that sort of thing, and I don't trust your filthy family!" there is a pause, "Meant no harm? I don't care whether or not he _meant no harm._ Uchiha Sasuke is never to come near my daughter again!"

Sakura hears the phone slammed into its cradle. A long silence follows afterwards.

Ino comes out of her bedroom looking divine in her black miniskirt and boots, and red tank top with the black jacket Sasuke had given _her_, and she gives Sakura a pleased grin before walking by Sakura's father, her expression quickly changing to that of false sadness.

_**Don't you see what she does to you? To this family?**_

Sakura shivers. Because the world feels a little different.

* * *

Sakura walks into the living room looking a little bit cleaner and a little bit less like she slept in the front yard, and she tries to avoid the stares of anger and contempt and confusion from the three people she thought she could always trust.

Sakura's mother puts on a smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes, "Who's ready to open presents?"

The Haruno family doesn't have a tree. Sakura can remember when she was younger and their tree was _talltalltall_, but her mother was allergic to pine and they had a assemble-it-yourself tree, and whenever they would all put it together, she would sit on her father's shoulders to put on the top branches because she was too short to even see where the small angel would rest in all her haloed glory.

Instead of a tree, the Haruno family now has a Christmas wreath hanging over the never-ignited fire place where all of the presents sit, small in number.

Sakura's mother opens her gifts first. She opens the gift Sakura has given her, wrapped in cheap tissue paper she found in the closet. The new shoe soles bring a small smile to her mother's face, and Sakura notices the crow's-feet at the corners of her mother's eyes, and the lines on her forehead and corners of her mouth for the first time.

"Thank you, Sakura, dear."

Next she opens the gift Ino has gotten for her. Her eyes seem to glitter for a moment when she pulls a charming silver necklace with a heart-shaped pendant from the box. She gives Ino a tight hug and kisses her on the forehead and Sakura's smile drops maybe just a little bit, but she makes sure it still remains, because this is the day she makes others happy, even if she can't make them as happy as Ino can.

Sakura's father hasn't given her mother a gift, and neither will look at the other.

Next Sakura's father opens his gifts. He opens Ino's gift, and he practically glows when he opens the gift-wrap to find a brand-new leather wallet. He gives her a gruff comment of appreciation before moving to the box Sakura spent a long time trying to wrap perfectly. When he finds the thermos, his lips thin and he says, "Thanks." But he doesn't look at her, and she can tell he hasn't quite forgiven her for something she hasn't done, but she might as well have done because she knows that Dosu's family has probably spent the night grieving.

Ino is very pleased by the gemstone eye shadow and glittery purple nail polish she receives, but doesn't even really look at the blouse that Sakura had to give away her favorite music box to afford.

And Sakura receives a pair of socks from her father, a red headband from her mother, and some cover-up from Ino. As soon as the small final gifts are opened, the family members each go to their own rooms, and Sakura wants to cry because Sakura's father isn't drinking hot chocolate out of his new thermos, and Sakura's mother isn't asking for Sakura's help to make the ham, because this year there wasn't enough money for a ham, and they've got spaghetti instead.

_**Let go.**_

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: Sorry about the wait. I've been taking art classes from 12:00-4:00 every day for two weeks, and it's been wearing me out. Starting Monday I'll be starting driving lessons…so this should be…interesting. I hope I don't kill any of you by hitting you with the car…**_

_**Please review! You guys have been awesome!**_

_**-MT**_


	8. Hinata's Interlude

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Eight: Hinata's Interlude**_

_Breathe into my hands  
Or cup them like a glass to drink from  
Are you still, still breathing?  
Are you still breathing?_

_- "Glass Vase Cello Case" by Tattle Tale_

_**Warning: Mature-ish Themes Ahead.**_

* * *

She had been born into a world of testosterone-fueled battles, a family of fighters, strong-willed opponents, and she had _always_ been the odd one out.

The idea of having a daughter that wanted to heal instead of inflict damage was ludicrous, spat upon in this world she had been born into. She was supposed to inherit the dojo, teach others to defend themselves, how to attack, just what areas upon the human body you could pinch to make the strongest of men scream. Instead she spent her days studying text books, visiting pharmacies, asking questions. She wore the finest silk clothing, lived in the best home money could buy, but she didn't care for any of it.

All she wanted was to help people, and still receive her father's satisfaction.

_**One.**_

"Hiashi! Hiashi! It hurts! I think the baby is coming!"

"Now? But, it's a month early!"

"Either the baby is coming, or I just wet myself, and I don't think it is the latter, Hiashi! Get me to the hospital _now!_" she gasps. Crimson liquid trickles down her inner thigh. She frantically looks to her husband for help, her forehead glistening with sweat. Her eyes roll back into her head, and she collapses.

"There have been a few…complications, Mr. Hyuuga," the doctor tugs at his jacket collar.

The Hyuuga clears his throat, stern as always, "I'm sure whatever it is, I can take it."

"Because your child was born prematurely, there is the possibility that her brain had not completely finished developing. So there is the chance that she could have been born mentally handicapped and physically stunted."

"You're saying that my child will be slow. Incompetent. Useless. Incapable of carrying on the Hyuuga tradition of the first child running the family dojo," the man's eyes narrow, his nostrils flaring.

"There is…one more thing. Your wife. She's lost much blood…she may not last through the night. You have my deepest condolences."

_**Two.**_

Hinata is four years old.

The walls of her bedroom are covered in hand-drawn pictures of rainbows and horses and family portraits done in markers she borrows from her pre-school teacher. Her cousin Neji comes to visit her and they play games until he leaves to spar because she's heard that even though she is the Hyuuga heiress, she is 'incompetent' and Neji is not. And even though she doesn't know what that word means, every time she hears it she gets a little sadder.

Her daddy brings home ladies she's not allowed to talk to, and sometimes they make scary moaning noises in his room that give her nightmares, and usually the lady is gone by morning, and Hinata wonders if maybe there is a monster in daddy's room that eats the women that are unkind.

Hinata isn't allowed out of her room when she's not at school or training in the dojo, because of that word 'incompetent.' So Hinata tries hard at school and when she spars because she's hoping that maybe then she will be allowed to talk to pretty ladies that make moaning noises at night, and she'll be allowed to talk to daddy and make him proud.

_**Three.**_

Hinata is six years old. She's been held back a year in school, and she's shorter than the other kids in her class. The other kids know their alphabets and their numbers and their shapes, but she doesn't know hers, but Neji tells her that it's okay because she's special. She doesn't know how being small and stupid makes her special, but he reassures her so she believes him.

Hinata has a half-sister named Hanabi. Hinata doesn't know who Hanabi's mother is –the baby's mother only stayed around long enough for Hanabi to be born, and then she was removed from the Hyuuga household. Hinata only saw the baby once. A beautiful little girl with tuffs of feathery-brown hair upon her crown. Her daddy spends all of his time looking after the little girl, playing with her, buying her toys, taking her to watch Neji when he trains.

Hinata wonders how a baby is more competent than she, but she still doesn't know what the word means, and she thinks that maybe if she is special, then maybe Hanabi is more special.

_**Four.**_

Hinata is eight years old.

She has a baby-sitter because she's left the house too many times to go ask questions to the men and women who work at the pharmacy around the corner.

Her baby-sitter is a teenage boy with silver hair and glasses, and he makes her take off her clothes so that he can touch her, but she lets him because he teaches her about medicine, and she doesn't know that those places aren't to be touched. And besides, Neji doesn't talk to her anymore. She has a daddy and he doesn't and he hates her for it, though she doesn't understand why, because he never cared for her to begin with.

_**Five.**_

Hinata is twelve. She has caught up with the other kids in her grade through hard work, and she while she is clumsy and still short, she has learned a lot in martial-arts. She has given her father hope, and is to spend three hours a day watching Hanabi and Neji train, and she knows she will never be half as good as they are.

The kids in her class make fun of her because she has breasts and she started her period in the middle of art class once, and cried because she thought she was dying.

She learns at school that what her baby-sitter does is called sexual-harassment, and that it is a very bad thing. She tells Kabuto this, and asks him if he knew, and he just gives her a twisted smile, and soon her clothes are on the floor, and he's touching her in a different way. But her nice baby-sitter gives her whispered assurances and tells her that it is just a kind of game, and he promises to teach her a lot of medical techniques and terms. After that day, her baby-sitter never returns.

Even after seven weeks Hinata has no period, and she begins to vomit, and her breasts get larger and the teasing becomes almost unbearable.

After two months, her father tells her to spar with her cousin, Neji. She doesn't want to fight him because she gets queasy and tired easily, and she can still remember the way that he would speak to her when no one else would except for the boy who lives in the house behind her godmother, and Neji still hates her and she's afraid of getting hurt.

The spar is more painful than she had possibly imagined, and she begins to cry when blood begins to seep through her robe and spurt from her mouth.

Hinata gets open heart surgery and after a month of hospitalization, she learns that she was pregnant, that she had a tiny child inside of her, and that that day she lost it. And she thinks that maybe she wishes that she could have died with it.

_**Six.**_

Hinata is fourteen.

She goes to the same school as the boy who lives behind her godmother, and her cousin, and she becomes friends with a blonde boy with the most beautiful blue eyes she's ever seen. He is the only one she ever tells about her baby, and he never tells anyone else. He follows her around and even though he's in only two of her classes, he does everything he can to keep people from teasing her.

She knows what the word 'incompetent' means now, and she no longer cries when her father calls her it, because he never loved her and he never will. Neji is nicer to her now, constantly looking after her, as if trying to make up for killing the child she didn't know she had in his own way, compensating for the sin little by little.

And at night she curls in on herself, as if protecting her empty womb, often murmuring to her baby that she hopes is up in heaven, and she wonders if maybe the child is an angel now.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: Good news for you guys, I have the next chapter already typed. This is a little different from the other chapters, but I decided awhile ago that before any chapter that will be majorly non-Sakura centric, I will have a chapter that is back-story for that character. Like this time, you get Hinata's back story, and the next chapter is Hinata's birthday. I typed this entire thing up in one night, so forgive me if there are any major errors…I'm kind of really tired. I actually intended on making chapter eight Hinata's birthday along with something else that will probably happen quite a bit later on in the story, because then it would work better postponed, and then I was going to combine this chapter and the next one, but the different POVs didn't work together. This chapter and the next chapter will be a little shorter than usual, but I'll be posting the next chapter in probably three days so that I can go over it again and maybe take some of you guys' responses into consideration.**_

_**Whoo. Sorry for the long Author's Note…**_

_**Please review! I would really like your opinions and criticism.**_

_**-MT**_


	9. Life as is

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Nine: Life as is**_

_If I was sincere and whispered my fears  
Would you still be here?  
Would you stay?  
Would you stay with me?_

_- "Stay" by Michelle Featherstone_

* * *

It's December 27th.

Hinata's birthday.

Hinata invites over Naruto, Gaara, and Sakura and the boy that always stares at her--Kiba, and then the boy Sakura doesn't know at all named Shino who always hides his face.

Sakura learns that Kiba lives in the house behind Kurenai, and because Hinata used to visit her godmother so often, the two families took down the fence in the back, and they share a yard. Shino has known Kiba since they were twelve, and Hinata instantly took to the quiet boy.

They live in a small run-down neighborhood where the paint is peeling off of the outer walls of the one-bedroom, one-bathroom home. Hinata sleeps in the attic on a pallet on a spare mattress on the floor. The flooring is stable enough, and Hinata's make-shift room contains a mattress, a desk, and a box that she keeps her clothes in. There is no lamp, but Hinata has a flashlight for when it gets dark at night.

Kurenai doesn't have enough money for a television, so the kids just sit on the vacant space in the middle of the floor. Gaara sits close to Sakura and Naruto at all times; Kiba and Shino are clearly not comfortable with him being there.

Kiba's dog sits in Hinata's lap while she giggles and touches him.

"So, Sakura, fall down the stairs again?" the owner of the dog asks.

_**Tell them. Tell them. Tell them.**_

Sakura looks up from Akamaru.

"Oh, you mean this?" Sakura slightly touches the bruising on her cheek bone, and laughs emptily, "I tripped on the corner of the carpet and hit my face on the table…clumsy me, you know?"

_**Is Ino's reputation more important than your well-being?**_

Gaara touches the hand that is on the floor behind her back and she curls her pinky around his index-finger and Naruto sends Kiba a glare.

"Hmm," Shino sounds, and everyone looks at him, "Someone is here."

Naruto rolls his eyes and sticks out his tongue, "Well, duh, we're all sitting here-"

The doorbell rings, and Hinata jumps up, tripping over Gaara's leg, yelling apologies all the way to the front door. Sakura gets up and follows behind the girl, and Gaara automatically follows, Naruto bringing up the rear. Kiba shrugs and he and Shino tag along.

Neji is in the doorway, his eyes averted as he holds a box towards Hinata, "Happy Birthday."

_**lovelovelovelovelove**_

Hinata stares for a moment before a huge smile breaks out onto her face, "Would you like to come in?"

He looks at each of the party guests individually before looking to his cousin, "Ah…I shouldn't."

Her smile drops a little and she nods, "Tell father and Hanabi I love them?"

"You know I can't do that."

_**lovelovelovelovelove  
It's not enough on its own.**_

Hinata nods again, and Neji is gone. She turns around, her eyes sparkling with crystalline tear-drops that will never fall, before grabbing the hand of the person closest to her, Kiba, while she carries her cousin's gift to her in the other.

The group makes a birthday cake. When Gaara drops the spoon and kneels to pick it up, and Kiba spins to show off his dance move to Hinata and knocks the sack of flower off the counter with his elbow, the redheaded boy looks hysterically similar to a clown with his red hair and white-powdered face and darkly-circled eyes, and the group is left laughing for five minutes straight.

After working for over an hour to make the dough correctly, they take a break for Hinata to open gifts. They sprawl out on the kitchen floor and Kurenai watches from the corner of the room with an amused smile on her face as Kiba and Naruto bicker over whose present Hinata should open first.

Through the commotion, Shino quietly hands the blue-haired girl his gift, a large, flat square wrapped in Christmas wrapping paper, reindeer prancing all over.

"Sorry. Difficult to find 'Happy Birthday' at this time of year."

"Hey, she was supposed to open my present first!" Naruto shouts, but Kiba quickly whacks him over the head to silence him.

Hinata carefully takes apart the paper, not tearing any of it, and she pulls apart the two pieces of cardboard laid together in the box.

"I remembered that you had a record player, so…"

Hinata smiles softly at her friend as she watches the light gleam off of the shiny black disc.

Kiba and Naruto both stand up immediately, but Naruto abruptly shoves Kiba back down before throwing his own gift to Hinata's feet and grins widely, "Open mine! Open it!"

Hinata blushes when she opens the box to find four different colored spools of thread, a new needle, and a pair of sewing scissors.

"Thank you, Naruto."

Kiba, looking dejected, hands Hinata a gift bag with colored tissue paper overflowing from the top. Hinata opens it and pulls out a small booklet with a badly-drawn picture of a dog on the front.

"Kiba's I'll-Do-Whatever-You-Want-If-it-Applies-to-These-Coupons Book," Hinata giggles before flipping through the pages. She sets the stapled-together booklet on the floor beside her where she sits, "Thank you very much, Kiba."

"See? I got a 'thank you very much' and you only got a 'thank you.' So take that!" Kiba shouts, pointing in Naruto's face.

"Yeah, yeah, Dog Breath. Go gloat to your pup," Naruto sticks his chin up.

Gaara gives Hinata a bottle full of colored sand. She doesn't understand, but that's okay because she thinks it's very pretty and she thanks him for it anyway, and she will keep it on the bare desk in front of her window, because that way even when it's dark she'll be able to see it by moonlight.

Sakura gives Hinata a pair of jeans. The hem at the bottom of each pant leg is a little frayed, and they're hand-me-downs, but Hinata has needed a pair of pants so that her legs won't freeze anymore when she goes outside.

And Hinata is practically dancing as she begins to play the record that Shino has given her.

_**A girl who has nothing can be happy because she loves everything.**_

"So, who wants cake?" Kurenai asks.

"It doesn't have any frosting," Naruto points at the lopsided mass of bread that may or may not have been left in the oven for too long.

Hinata fishes through the cabinets for a few moments before finding what she's looking for. She walks over to the cake and squirts the hot-pink-almost-liquefied frosting all over the top of it.

The cake is cut and passed to each guest, and everyone sings for Hinata. She smiles through it, blushing a shade to match the frosting and enjoys the tuneless singing of her friends that clashes horribly with the record playing in the background.

"This cake tastes like shit," Kiba says, laughing through his mouthful of undercooked over-frosted desert.

"I concur," Shino nods.

_**You could be happy too.**_

* * *

It is night and all of the boys are gone, and Kurenai has gone to her night-job. All of the natural light has stopped filtering through the window-panes and Sakura and Hinata lay back to back on the blue-haired girl's mattress.

"Sakura, how do you really get all of your bruises?" Hinata asks.

Sakura's breathing halts for a second. Hinata's question breaks the unspoken agreement between them –to never mention the other's poor living status.

"They're simply a reminder that I should remember my place in the world."

Hinata is quiet for several moments before shifting under the holey quilt so that the girls' backs are touching.

"Someday we will find boys who will buy us houses to live in and they will love us like our parent's couldn't."

Sakura doesn't want to, but she briefly imagines it; it is nothing too extravagant. Just a one-bedroom house with a kitchen and a bathroom and a living room with maybe a twelve-inch television and walls where the paint doesn't chip, and clothing that fits, and maybe even a Christmas tree when that time of year comes. A real Christmas tree with a porcelain angel on top.

And she wants it so badly that it hurts maybe just a little.

Sakura thinks that Hinata is imagining it too, the way the girl curls in on herself, as if trying to keep all of the warmth in her body from escaping even though there's a hole that she can't find, so she'll try to cover everything to make sure she gets it, her hand over her stomach.

"Someday I'll be a doctor, and you'll make medicines that will cure the world."

The room is silent again.

"Sakura…" Hinata's voice is soft, "When everyone else is gone, will you still be here?"

Sakura reaches behind her and grabs Hinata's hand, "I won't ever leave you."

The two lay in silence for a long time following, and Sakura is just about to drift to sleep when she feels Hinata shift and press her forehead into the hollow between Sakura's own head and neck, her soft breathing echoing in her ear.

Sakura's voice comes out just a breath,

"I won't ever leave you."

**_Don't make promises you can't keep, little one._**

* * *

It is

the day before we

go back to school.

Ino is

out and she

has been all night.

_**The night-life isn't so great.**_

When

my mother turns her back to

unlock the door

a squirrel

dashes mid-way

across the street.

A car slows down in front of it before

speeding up.

"No!"

_**Nature is just…running its course, child.**_

_But there's nothing natural about a human in its fancy truck, speeding over an innocent creature._

My shout

startles my mother and she

drops her bags when I

run towards the street,

the squirrel flying in the air.

I reach it

just as it hits the ground.

It's skull is

smashed

and it's tiny body

goes into spasms.

And I wonder if there is

maybe

a squirrel heaven

and

squirrel angels

too.

_**Could there possibly still be one out there for humanity?**_

* * *

It is

twilight

and I have

dug a hole and

put the squirrel in

a box.

_**While a funeral has value to a human**_

_**to a squirrel it's just like keeping another animal from its next meal.**_

I hum

a little tune as

I bury the

unfortunate

creature.

Ino

--who

came home with

red patches on her neck

that I had

never seen on her before

and I wonder if maybe

that's why she wears collared shirts

every day--

watches me from the porch.

When I

put the shovel away she

laughs

half-heartedly with

a bitter edge.

"You are such

a freak."

Am I a…

freak?

_**FreakFreakFreakFreak**__**Freak.**_

"What happened to

your neck?"

Ino

uncomfortably

adjusts the

crotch of her

designer jeans that

lately it seems she wears

a little less proudly

these days

and says,

"They're proof that

somebody

loves me.

Unlike

you."

And I wonder

how many times the words

'somebody'

and

'you'

can be put together

in my life time

without anyone

calling me

somebody.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: This chapter had angst-reduction surgery without my permission. And yeah. So I have no good explanation about the random squirrel thing. I was just coming home one day and one of my neighbors saw a squirrel and sped up to drive over it. I think I've witnessed a few too many squirrel deaths in my life. But anyways, my mother wouldn't let me bury it, so Sakura did it for me. Oh yes. And there's that whole 'I'll put the next chapter up in three days' thing. But honestly, I've been busy. Painting my walls is not as fun as I thought it might be.**_

_**-MT**_


	10. Fade Out

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Ten: Fade Out**_

_It's not meant to be like this  
Not what I planned at all  
I don't want to feel like this  
So that makes it all your fault  
Inside-out, Upside-down, twisting beside myself  
Stop that now  
You're as close as it gets without touching me_

_- "The Walk" by Imogen Heap_

* * *

"Yeah,

so I'm having a

totally hot house party tonight

and

you should definitely come!"

I don't know

how many times I've

heard those words uttered from

Ino's lips

and

school hasn't even started yet.

For the first time in

almost two months

I follow Ino to her locker.

I am to carry her

flyers.

Little

post-card sized

papers with a picture of a

speaker

blasting music and the words

'_Want some frothy fun?'_

And while there is no

mentioning

of beer

it seems to just scream that there

will be.

_**Kids killing their own brain cells for a little 'frothy fun.'**_

We reach the locker

just as he

is finishing there.

And for the first time in

two months

he looks at me.

_**He's the only one who ever really saw you.**_

"Sakura. Ino,"

he says in

greeting.

In surprise, I

drop the flyers.

"I'm sorry,

Ino. I'm really

sorry!"

I

drop to the floor,

quickly trying to pick up the

papers.

Sasuke…

helps.

"Hey, Sasuke! I'm having a

totally hot-"

"I'm not

interested."

Ino frowns,

not liking that he

cut her off

mid-sentence.

"Well, why don't you

just

think about it

some more?"

Ino hands him

one of the flyers that he had

stuffed

back into my hands,

before

looking at me with a

sly glance.

_**Bait.**_

"Anyway,

Sakura will be there,

of course.

Dressed up.

You wouldn't want to miss that,

would you?"

Sasuke gazes

deeply into my eyes as if

trying to figure out what I

really

wanted.

_**Reel in the catch.**_

But I couldn't answer him because

I didn't know.

_**You're annoying.**_

* * *

Hinata and Sakura sit next to each other, doodling on each other's papers, pictures of little girls in gauzy dresses and picnic tables and hockey players, and older women –widows, wearing wedding dresses that they've long since outgrown.

"What did Neji get you for your birthday?" Sakura asks, drawing an angel boy with rabbit ears and a cotton tail, handing a martini to someone of f the edge of the paper. Hinata draws a hand coming onto her paper holding the same glass; an offering to one of the little girls in a flowing dress.

Hinata gives the little girl long curling hair that billows like smoke, "I didn't open it."

_**When it is the thought that truly counts.**_

Sakura peers up at the other girl while she draws a speech bubble for the angel that says _'Nobody came to my party.'_

Hinata gives the little girl a speech bubble that says, _'I did.'_

* * *

Naruto, Hinata, and Gaara all walk with each other on the way to their classes. They peel away like old paint, Gaara disappearing off to Psychology, and then Hinata to History. Sakura holds Naruto's hand because he lets her and maybe he secretly likes it but he knows they're just friends because Sakura's too damaged and he cares for someone else.

"So are you going to be at Ino's party tonight?" Naruto asks, making light conversation.

Sakura shrugs. She hadn't expected that she would be allowed to until what Ino had said that morning, "Ino wants me there. So I will go unless she asks me to do otherwise."

Naruto smiles, "That's great. I'm trying to get Hinata to go, maybe have a little fun, but she gets nervous around large gatherings like that. She's got low blood sugar and she faints a lot."

Sakura tilts her head, "I didn't know that."

"Yeah, she can't over exert herself either because of-" he cuts off abruptly, "Nothing. Never mind."

Sakura squeezes his hand for a moment before releasing it completely. Hinata would tell her when she needed to know. If she needed to know.

Sakura walks into the English class. Sasuke is gone, she notes, and she feels like maybe the ground has shifted a little below her feet. Because today is curious and she doesn't know in what way.

"Sasuke is gone again," she says, pulling herself onto her desk, one of her shoes flopping half-way off her foot, because without a shoelace or a tongue, it doesn't stay on very well.

Naruto looks at her with a peculiar expression.

"What?" she asks, feeling awkward, shifting under the weight of his gaze.

"You haven't mentioned or even spoken of him in months. I thought your little thing was in the past…?" he nudges her shoe with his own, and hers falls off her foot with a thump.

She kicks off the other shoe, feeling better with both off than with one on, before looking to the ceiling, "Today we readjust the pencil on the side of the eraser. If we do it just right, nothing will happen, but if we nudge it a little too much in either direction, it will fall. What nobody knows is, which is for the best?"

Naruto doesn't understand, so he just picks up her more damaged shoe, pulls off his own orange shoelace, and winds it through the holes on hers before sitting beside her.

"Your headband –it's nice," he says, nudging her softly in the side. He doesn't miss the grimace she makes at his touch.

She places a hand where he nudged her, and bites her lip, "Thank you. It was a Christmas Present."

_**He understands what he needs to, though.**_

* * *

It is

after school.

I've not dressed up for

anything

since I was little, when

dresses were a part of my daily

wear.

_**GoneGoneGoneGone.**_

"I got

what you're going to wear

off of the

clearance rack, and I've

never worn it.

I don't want it back after

this.

Go wash your hair and

I'll try to see if I can do

something

with that ridiculously ugly

head of hair of

yours."

* * *

The shower is

cold

as usual.

But there's something

better

about it than usual.

Maybe because Ino

is

willing to touch me again

unlike

it has been.

As though maybe today

I'm not a disease.

_**Redemption isn't so easy.**_

* * *

Sakura tries to pull the dress down to cover more skin, but only succeeds in showing more at the top.

A slinky black tube dress that goes a little above mid-thigh and barely covers her breasts with a cut-out back and shiny black four-inch stilettos.

She spends every few seconds stumbling over her own feet, and she's thankful the party hasn't started yet or she would be falling over people, exposing a little more than she would be comfortable with.

_**Comfort is a luxury you can't afford.**_

"Ino, are you sure about this?" she asks as the blonde applies cover-up to the bruises on the pink-haired girl's side and upper-arms.

The blonde rolls her eyes, "Listen, I know you have a crush on Sasuke, and I just feel a little bad about blaming the birth-control thing on you. So I thought I'd make it up to you."

Sakura squirms uncomfortably, "Um, not to question your tactics, Ino, but how is this making it up to me?"

The blonde girl smirks, "Every girl knows that the only thing guys are after is a little flesh. And every girl wants a little sexcapade, especially with Mr. Sexy Uchiha."

The green-eyed girl shivers as Ino steps away. She thinks that Sasuke is an angel so he wouldn't only talk to her because he wants to get in her pants, but maybe in a world of slinky dresses and high-heeled shoes, that's all she can get.

"Sakura, have you ever been touched by a guy before?"

Sakura flinches. The doorbell rings.

"Oh. Well, I suppose we'll have to cut this little conversation short. Coming!"

* * *

Soon

the house is full of

girls in

party dresses and

boys in ripped jeans and

sports T-shirts.

I'm the only one wearing

what looks to me like a

stripper dress.

"Hey baby,

I love the dress,

but it would look better on my

floor!"

I turn towards the voice.

A guy in his

junior year with a

cocky grin and a

plastic cup full of

beer.

_**Another hapless child, lost to the ways of sin and alcohol.**_

"Why?

Do you want it?

I didn't take you as a

transvestite but,

you can have it later if you

want."

He

blanches.

His friend spits beer all over

the floor,

and I think that maybe

Ino will make me clean that up

later.

So far no sign of

Sasuke.

"Hey Sakura,"

someone

taps on my shoulder and I

turn.

And there goes my

first kiss.

* * *

"Hey, Zaku!" Ino called in her sing-song voice, shaking her hips a little to the music that blasted from the speakers.

The black-haired boy turned with a smirk.

"Yo. What's up?"

"You see my friend over there, Sakura? She's been talking about how hot she thinks you are, and she wants you to go kiss her," the girl said, pointing to Sakura, who was speaking to another boy.

The black-haired boy's smirk widened, "I think I can be of some assistance."

He walked over to where Sakura stood, "Hey, Sakura!"

_Flash!_

Ino captured the moment with her digital camera before pocketing it.

Sakura wiped her mouth on the back of her hand and looked down at the floor before walking away, leaving Zaku confused.

* * *

It is probably

an hour

after the party first

started.

Ino has been shoving

glass after

glass of

punch

into my hands,

telling me to down it,

and I

feel strange.

_**Ino's 'making it up to you' doesn't seem so innocent now, does it?**_

It wasn't necessarily

uncomfortable

at first.

After the first few

glasses

I just had a light

buzz.

As though

everything was a little more colorful

a little more

bright.

_**A little more dangerous. A little more sinful.**_

And then

things started to spin

And the ground started to try and

trip me.

And so that led up to

lying on the bathroom floor,

feeling the music pulse through the house,

through my body,

the coldish tiles against my

feverish

face.

"Hey Sakura!

There's someone I want you to

meet!"

I hesitantly open the door and

I somehow end up losing my

second kiss,

though I'm not sure how.

_**Smile for the camera.**_

* * *

Sakura stumbles over someone's feet as she makes her way towards the faucet. No more punch from Ino, she decides.

The water misses the cup the first time, but after she gets the hang of it and downs a few more glasses, she feels a little more sober. She decides that maybe she needs to leave the house. Leave before it's too late and she's corrupted by the smoke and the alcohol and the overly-loud music.

She begins to approach the door, when someone she didn't expect appeared. The boy with the black eyes and the pretty face and the invisible wings.

Sometime during the process of her staring, he had ended up in front of her.

"Sakura."

Her eyes are captivated by his.

"Hmm," she murmurs.

"Would you like to dance?"

_**A little corruption is okay, coming from an angel.**_

* * *

While he looked like

an angel

he

danced like a

sinner

his body weaving around mine like a

snake coiling

around a tree branch

though he never quite touches me.

He is close enough to where I can

feel

his body heat

radiating off of him,

and when his sleeve grazes

the little hairs on my arm,

I feel a

shiver

go down my spine.

He leans his

head

beside mine

and for a moment

I think he might

kiss me.

_**Angels don't spare kisses on failures.**_

I feel his breath on my

earlobe as he murmurs

"You proved me

wrong,

little one."

My body trembles.

I am

shoved

into Sasuke's arms

"Whore!"

I turn my

head and see

Ami,

just as she turns and

walks away.

* * *

As they step out into the cool night air, Sakura shivers, her body slick with sweat.

"Why did you disappear?" she asks him, her bare feet enjoying the relief from the high-heels that have long since been discarded in her front yard.

He gives her a ghostly smile that she's not sure whether it exists or not, and he says, "I had to know whether my being around you was endangering you more than if I tried to protect you."

She looks up from the slick road and tilts her head, "You don't have to protect me. I just want to be friends."

He chuckles darkly, something she yet again doesn't understand, "You hold your own in a way that no one should have to. You don't need protecting, I know, but it helps me a little if I try."

She takes his hand, lacing her fingers between his, "Is this okay? I like touching people. My own way of getting to know them."

He looks wary for a moment before nodding and turning his head heavenwards, "You said once that you thought I was an angel."

She smiles, "I still do."

"We live in a world of war and hate and sin, and you can still believe that angels exist?"

_**An angel that doesn't believe he exists.**_

She releases his hand before skipping forwards and turning back to face him, waiting for him to catch up, "Somebody has to. And maybe I can be that somebody. Where are we going, anyway?"

This time he takes her hand, not quite thinking about the action, "Nowhere. Anywhere. Everywhere. Wherever you want."

"Let's go Nowhere and Anywhere. I like those two."

He nods, "What about Everywhere?"

She looks at him with curiosity, "We can't possibly go everywhere. Nowhere and Anywhere are easier."

"Would you want to go to Everywhere?"

She nods.

"Well then. We'll go Nowhere and Anywhere and make our way up to Everywhere."

* * *

When I

wake up

my mother and father have

returned.

I shoot up,

out of bed in a flash.

Ino and I forgot to clean up.

Without

getting dressed

I run into the kitchen,

where my mother

and

father

sit across from

each other,

speaking in

irritated

voices.

When my father

notices me,

he stands up,

"Sakura!"

I jump.

My stomach seems to

harden,

thicken under the pressure of

some sort of

guilt.

"Ino

left a note.

She explained that you were

having a party

and that she

slept over at a friends

house

so that she wouldn't be

involved

with the alcohol and the

dangers."

My whole body

stiffens.

My mother's eyes begin to

tear up.

"I'm so

disappointed in you,

Sakura."

Ino

walks in through the

front door.

* * *

_zigzagzigzagzigzag_

"Sakura, what are you doing?"

_zigzagzigzagzigzag_

"Shh...I'm saving the world."

_zigzagzigzagzigzag_

"Sakura, you're not a superhero."

She sends him an oblique glance, her expression full of disbelief, but it is quickly composed.

"Maybe I can be," she murmurs, and then adds hopefully, "You can be my sidekick if you'd like."

"I'm not going to walk in the directions the panels on your floor face," he says indignantly. It takes him a few moments of observing her to realize she's still wearing her pajamas, that her eyeliner is smeared on her face, and that her hair is mussed, "And get ready for school. We're going to be late."

She loses her balance and stumbles, and frowns when she sees that her right foot is on a sideways panel, and she's facing the wrong direction. She stares at the wooden floor, wondering if the small cracks between floor boards are going to swallow her whole as punishment. They do nothing, and she imagines that maybe it's a trick, and when she least expects it, she'll disappear, and Sasuke will forget that she ever existed, and maybe he'll forget why he's in her house, and he'll begin to leave, but then Ino, who's so beautiful and perfect will come from the master bedroom she persuaded Sakura's mother to give her, and Sasuke will think that maybe, just maybe, he was here to ask Ino out on a date, and they'll go out, and have a beautiful night-

"Sakura, are you listening to me?"

She rights her foot on the floorboard, and thinks that maybe she's averted disaster for now.

"Right. I'll go get ready."

_**Hold on, while it lasts.**_

* * *

Sakura thinks that maybe today she'll just change out of her tank-top, and put on a shirt, and she'll stay in her pajama pants. Because she doesn't want the girls at school to call her a whore again, and she doesn't want guys coming by and brushing their hands across her back to see if she's wearing a bra. Because she would be, and it'd probably be the strapless one that's too big, and it'd probably fall down, and then, and then...

She decides that maybe she'll put on jeans too. Her shorts have shrunk in the wash, and she can't believe Sasuke saw her in them, but she also thinks that maybe he didn't care, and she thinks maybe she shouldn't either.

So she meets Sasuke (who's slouching with his hands in his pockets, as usual) in an over-sized brown sweater (she calls it her hobo sweater, because she usually wears it under the coat with the sleeves that are too short, to compensate), and the black blouse she gave Ino for Christmas; Sakura doesn't think Ino would even recognize the top if she saw it again, and some jeans that she cut the bottoms of so that they'd be capris (she rescued them from the lost and found before they were to be donated to the Good Will foundation). She doesn't think she matches, and her hair may have kinks in it, since she slept on it funny, but she thinks that maybe she doesn't care as much as she thought she did, and so she gets in the car Sasuke borrowed from his brother, thinking that maybe her mother doesn't need to know that she's riding in a car with a sixteen-year-old driver, and not the bus.

And she doesn't dare

look at Sasuke

because

he's too beautiful

and she thinks that

maybe

she might feel like

crying a little

if she

does.

And

she doesn't

want Sasuke

to see her cry

because she isn't

weak,

even if

her mother

thinks she is.

_**You're not crying, so why isn't she proud?**_

* * *

The little group that surrounds Sakura has increased. From class to class, Hinata, Gaara, Naruto, and Sasuke follow her, as if they are a shield, protecting the girl from the rumors and lies being spread around. Pictures of Sakura in her dress, pictures of her mid-kiss with different boys, pictures of her dancing with Sasuke, the words _whore, skank, slut,_ written beneath, stapled to the walls like the flyers that had been advertising the party just a day before. With each paper they pass, Gaara rips them down, gathering them into a wad before throwing them away in the nearest trashcan.

_**They can protect you from pictures and words, but they can't really change **__**anything**__**. And that's why they're friends with **__**you.**_

In History, the only class Sakura has with none of her friends, Karin glares daggers at her from across the table. The pink-haired girl wants to cry, but she won't, because even though she's sad and embarrassed, she knows she shouldn't be because now she has an angel on her side.

Biology feels unusual, because Sasuke and Gaara both sit close to her, and while she and Gaara talk, she realizes for the first time that while Sasuke remains silent, he is angled towards her –has always been angled towards her, and she begins to believe what he said the night before, maybe a little.

And she can't tell whether she feels half-full or half-empty, because she thinks that maybe she's a little both. Because her parents don't trust her because she's given them no reason to. But she has four wonderful friends. And she wishes that that was enough, but it's not.

"I'd like to introduce to you, my nephew, Kabuto. He will be the classroom assistant for the remainder of the year," Orochimaru-sensei says, introducing the silver-haired young man. His eyes are shielded by coke-bottle-rimmed glasses, and Sakura thinks that maybe it looks like he hides behind them.

"It's a pleasure to meet you all," he says in a charming voice, "I'm sure we'll all get along just fine."

When Sakura goes to Geometry, she finds that Tenten is gone –she's not coming back.

"She left. I found out from Neji that she left the Hyuuga household, said that she couldn't take their rules anymore. It was the only way that she and Neji could be together," Hinata says when Sakura asks. And while deep in the pit of her stomach it kind of hurts that Tenten could get what she wanted and she couldn't, the news gives her a little hope too.

* * *

Sakura follows Sasuke to his locker after last period; she hopes that maybe Ino will be able to drive her home today, though the days she has have been few and far between.

Instead of Ino waiting there, Hinata is instead, looking even smaller than usual, her bangs shielding her face.

The blue-haired girl immediately runs to Sakura, taking her hand, she stutters out, "I-Ino c-can't take y-you home."

Her lip trembles, and she bites down on it to make it still.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asks, and Sasuke looks on with a blank expression.

The door to the Biology classroom opens, Hinata's last class of the day, and the silver-haired man with the glasses exits, sending a secretive smile in their direction, "It's nice seeing you again, Hinata."

He waves and exits, and Hinata's hand shakes in Sakura's.

_**Wishing she could just disappeardisappeardisappear.**_

"We should find Naruto," Sasuke suddenly says, "Does that sound good to you, Hinata?"

Hinata looks up, blinking back tears and she slowly nods, "Thank you, Sasuke."

When the three find Naruto, Neji is standing with him. When his pale eyes rest on Hinata, he quickly runs to her, grabbing her shoulders, "Are you okay?!"

_**love.**_

She nods, a small smile on her face. Naruto pulls her into a hug, an apologetic expression set in, "That's the _last_ time I skip Biology."

* * *

Sakura arrives to a home of moans and pants.

A tangled display of limbs and discarded clothing on the sofa.

Ino's ice blue eyes look up to the ceiling as she huffs, a boy Sakura doesn't even recognize on top of her.

_**Let Go.**_

Sakura runs to her room and crawls under her bed, curling into the smallest ball she can manage.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: A longer chapter than usual. Sorry about the crappiness level. My angst-o-meter is totally busted. The superhero part was actually the second segment I ever wrote, even before it actually became a story…This was originally going to be up about four days ago, but I didn't think it was long enough, so I extended it, and here it is! And bageezes guys! 131 reviews? That's awesome! The most reviews I've ever received on any of my stories, even the one I have on my old account! And three C2s! Exciting. I LOVE YOU. But school starts on Monday, and that will either prevent me from updating do to work and stuff, or my anxiety will make me produce more chapters. We'll see, I guess. AND CAN YOU BELIEVE IT? I still haven't taken my driving lessons yet. And I was supposed to at the beginning of August. Man. That's lame.**_

_**Please review, guys!**_

_**-MT**_


	11. Tangled

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Eleven: Tangled**_

_Now, now, darling  
Oh, don't kill yourself  
'Cause none of us were angels  
And you know I love you, yes_

_- "Speeding Cars" by Imogen Heap_

* * *

It's one of those rare days where the sun is shining. There is no snow, no rain, no heavy fog. The roads are still slick from the night's rain, but for now the day is clear. Sakura presses her forehead to the glass, watching as her breath causes small white splotches fog the window pane. She can hear Ino's footsteps approaching behind her, but instead of turning as she knows Ino would want her to do, she just draws a smiley face with her finger in the residue her breath causes. Her heart begins to pound heavily as she feels Ino's harsh grip on her shoulder.

The blonde spins her around and delivers a violent slap to the pink-haired girl's face. She shoves her into the wall.

And for a moment, Sakura remembers the tangled limbs and the moans and cries that came from her best friend –the same sounds that used to keep her up at night before they ceased all together; when mother and father stopped sleeping in the same bed and father slept on that very same sofa that…

"It's not fair! It was supposed to push him away! It was supposed to make him hate you, see you as the pathetic whore you are! Instead you have him wrapped around your little finger!" Ino screeches, "Why does everyone love you? What could you possibly have that I don't? I'm beautiful, I have power! Why does everyone flock to you? I hate you."

"I'm...I'm sorry Ino. How can I make it up to you?" Sakura asks softly, her eyes tearing up, "Don't...don't hate me Ino. Don't hate me!"

Because she doesn't know if she can live with herself if the person who's most important to her hates her.

Ino's flustered angry look dissipates and a smirk forms in its place.

"I think I know of something you could do."

* * *

"Okay, this is easy stuff, Sakura. All you have to do is," Sakura says to herself and swallows, "Steal Principal Tsunade's cell phone."

Ami was distracting the principal, while Sakura was to sneak into the back room and take the phone from her bag.

"Sakura, what are you doing here?"

She gasps quietly, nearly slamming the door shut in surprise. She shuts it as silently as she can, and stares at her shoes. She hadn't expected anyone to be in here, much less _him_.

"Sasuke?"

"You're not supposed to be in here," he says, "Why are you here?"

She nudges the carpet with the toe of her shoe, "I'm doing something important."

"Important," he deadpans.

She nods fervently, "Please don't try to stop me, Sasuke. I need Ino to love me again, and this is the only way."

Tsunade's purse sits atop the copy machine, keys sprawled to the side. She unzips the handbag, ruffling through the items before pulling out an expensive-looking phone.

"So I can't stop you," he states, sounding disappointed. Sakura walks up to him, reaching out to take his hand, but she thinks better of it, and just lets her own fall to her side.

"I'm sorry, Sasuke. This is how my life is. I do what I have to," she looks at him with pleading eyes.

He nods once. His head jerks to the side when the doorknob turns. Sakura gasps. She doesn't have any pockets to hide the phone in or anything.

"Wait, Principal Tsunade!" they hear Ami exclaim, along with a few other murmurs.

Sasuke mutters a quick apology under his breath before pulling Sakura into his arms, shoving the hand holding the cell phone under the back of his jacket, and pressing his lips to her neck and his hands into her hair, and Sakura can't help but marvel at the way his back feels; not how muscular and defined it is, but she's almost certain that she feels _feathers?_

**_AngelAngelAngel._**

The door opens and Tsunade gasps.

"Sasuke!"

Sasuke releases Sakura, catching the phone in his hand and stuffing it into his back pocket and he makes an attempt to look flustered, "Principal Tsunade!"

Sakura coughs, straightening her shirt, and she tries to fight back her blush.

Tsunade shakes her head, "Sasuke, I gave you access to this room so that you could run errands for Kakashi, not so that you could…"

"Ahem. I apologize. I promise it won't happen again," Sasuke bows his head.

"You bet it won't. I'm calling both of your guardians. Sakura, this is the third time you've been called into my office. Don't make this a regular thing. Do you know how much trouble it was, cleaning up those flyers from your party? And then the aftermath?"

Sakura bites her lip, "I'm sorry."

"It wasn't Sakura's fault. It was Ino's party."

Sakura looks up at Sasuke, her eyes wide, "No, he's mistaken. It _is_ my fault."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"I don't care whose fault it is. Get your butts in my office, _now!_" The busty blonde woman turns and exits the room.

Sasuke turns to Sakura and murmurs with a smirk, "Your hair…I like it long."

He drops Tsunade's phone back into her purse and walks away.

* * *

"Sakura

I...

...I just don't

know

what to do anymore!

Do we

not treat you well?

Have I failed you

as a

parent?"

she asks

and

I can

see the tears

as they well up

in my mother's green eyes,

_**They're so much more beautiful than yours. So full of life's luster.**_

"Is this...

Is this some sort of

personal attack

because I

failed you?"

_**Because she didn't give birth to a girl with wings?**_

And even though

I know

I know that it hurts her

I just can't say

anything

because she didn't

fail me.

I

failed her.

But

my silence is

taken the wrong way

and

she's crying.

_**Somehow, you're always the cause of tears.**_

_**The bringer of sadness.**_

And the next thing I know

I'm trying,

to find the words to

make it all okay again

but

I don't get the chance

to say

what really matters because

we're at an intersection and

someone is

running a red light,

speeding.

And instead of an

apology

or an

_'I love you'_

I shout

"Watch out!"

I had always thought

that

the day I died

if I were to die violently

and

not by old age

it would be

either

unbearably slow

to where I would wish death

upon myself

just

to get it over with

or

it would be so fast that

I wouldn't know what

hit me.

The panic

and the fear

made it go by quickly

but

I was fully aware

of our car

flying through the air

and

performing summersaults

into the

opposite lane

and

the car that

made our car

flip

into the ditch

on the side of the

road,

the glass

popping

and shattering

and the metal

groaning

and twisting.

And for a second

I don't know what's

going on

and all I can think

is that

I flew.

I flew.

And I'm laughing.

Laughing hysterically

even though

blood is gushing

from the cut on my temple,

and my

(is it broken?)

nose.

But its

flowing

up?

* * *

It takes Sakura several moments before she realizes the car is upside down, and that she's crying. Not laughing.

Her long pink locks are tangled in a mess of matted blood and twisted metal, and she can't move her head.

"Mom?" she asks, her voice thick with tears and nausea, "Mom, are you alright?"

She can hear a slight gurgling sound being emitted from her mother's throat. Sakura turns her head slightly, but feels a terrible jolt of pain from where her hair is tugging at a gash on her scalp. But she can see enough.

The seatbelt is wound around her mother's neck.

"Mom! Mom, I'll get you out of there, okay?" she says, her voice lined with hysteria, "You're going to be okay!"

Sakura wants to try to pull her hair free with her hands, but that plan is ruled out when she realizes her right arm is broken.

_**Can you see it? Her wings. They're sprouting.**_

"Mom!"

Sakura uses her left arm to reach into the glove compartment that she knows has a pair of scissors inside. She opens it, and a mess of papers and pens falls out, but she grabs the scissors. And she can't help but think that if she dies here, then she'll be leaving behind Sasuke, and Hinata, and Naruto, and Gaara.

_I can't forget about Ino._

She can hear someone shouting, _"Are you okay?"_ But it's irrelevant now.

_**Her feet are no longer touching the ground.**_

"Stay with me, Mom!"

Sakura tries to reach for the seatbelt around her mother's neck, but she can't move enough to touch it. She can't unbuckle her own seatbelt or she'll fall, and she still can't move her head.

_"Your hair...I like it long."_

Sakura closes her eyes and runs the blades through her light pink hair, and suddenly she's free. She stretches as far as she can and snips the strap. It unwinds like rubber band snapping, and her mother falls at an unnatural angle, the entire left side of her body a bloody mess.

_**She's flying away, now. Say goodbye, Sakura.**_

"Mom, you can't leave me here! Take me with you!"

_**Goodbye, mother.**_

"Mom!"

_**Don't you want to say goodbye? Don't you love her?**_

_"MOM!"_

* * *

And now

she's the bright-colored angel

that's

too far away

too

high

for me to see

and all I can think of

are the words

_"Did I fail you as a parent?"_

and how

I couldn't say

anything

to prove her wrong.

The lights

they blind me

and I can only feel

pain

and I can hear

the deafening scream

of the sirens.

_**No, darling. They're **__**your**__** screams.**_

And it

it's too much

and

I think that maybe

I black out.

_**What would she think of you now?**_

* * *

Sakura wakes up.

She knows the smell and the feeling of the air of hospitals; she can vaguely remember the days when she would hold Ino's hand as the little girl would stare at her dying mother with baleful eyes that said, _'This is your fault. You deserve it.' _Because even though she loved her mother her mother never quite loved her back.

And Sakura remembers the feeling the day her sister's mother died, and now she understands that look. Because Ino wasn't saying, _'This is your fault. You deserve it.'_ She was saying, _'This is my fault. Why did this have to happen?'_

_**Because mommies aren't supposed to die when you're just a kid.**_

Sakura's fingers twitch and she can feel the scratchy material of the pale blue sheets. And she can feel the cast on her right arm. And she can feel the dizziness brought on by morphine. And she thinks she'd rather feel pain than this hollow nothingness.

She looks away from the ceiling, turning her head, and she realizes she's got one of those things that is supposed to help her breathe, and she thinks it feels a little weird, but she doesn't really care because she also remembers the television shows she used to watch when she lived in her beach house where whenever anyone would wake up in a hospital room, someone the injured or sick person loved would be sitting right beside them, pleading desperately for them to wake up.

Sakura wakes up to an empty room. And she feels just as empty.

* * *

"Don't jump!"

Sakura shivers. She feels a little strange being out in only a starchy blue hospital gown and her pale pink underwear. With twenty people staring at her.

"There are other solutions! There's therapy! Counseling! They can help you. You don't have to do this."

_**More people who would just tell you what they think you want to hear.**_

Sakura's knuckles are white with the tightness of her fingers curled around the metal railing. Right now she's just enjoying the feeling of almost-flight.

"Hold on. Let me try," she hears a familiar voice and she almost cries. But not quite because the feeling is immediately smothered by her mind protecting her from the sadness.

"Sakura."

"If I jump, maybe my wings will sprout and I will fly."

_**FlyFlyFlyFly.**_

"Sakura, you can't fly! If you jump, you'll die!"

"If I jump, will you catch me?" she asks, her grip loosening on the railing, "Will you fly down and catch me before I hit the ground? Or would you let me fall? I'd deserve it."

"Sakura..."

_**LetGoLetGoLetGo.**_

Sakura lets go.

Sasuke shoots forward, grabbing her from behind, holding her in a tight embrace. She can feel his warm breath against her ear, as a cold wind blows, "I won't let you fall."

Sakura puts her uninjured hand on his arm.

"Someday you will unfurl your wings and fly again, and maybe I'll get to watch, but maybe I won't, because maybe you'll disappear, because angels don't stay forever."

_**It'll only get harder when the time comes.**_

* * *

When I wake up

again

Gaara is just entering with

a cup of coffee

in hand.

His eyes

tighten at the corners when

he sees me.

He

swallows heavily before

sitting in the plastic chair beside me

that I can tell he

inhabited earlier

as

his jacket is draped over

the side.

He takes a long sip

from his drink

before staring at me

almost expectantly.

"Hi," I croak out

and

lick my lips.

Gaara puts his ice-cold

fingers

against my cheek.

"Hi."

He brushes his hand through my hair

fingering the ends,

jagged,

from cutting them with

the scissors—

but my mind

slams the door shut

over the memories I

don't want to relive.

"_People with long hair are attractive."_

_**It's only a matter of time…**_

"How long

have you been here?"

I ask.

"Only since

school got out."

I roll the shoulder of my

undamaged

arm.

"What time is it?"

"Eight."

"Gaara, you should

go home. You've been

watching me sleep for

three hours."

_**lovelovelovelovelove**_

He shrugs

before leaving a

gourd

with a ribbon on it

on the table

next to my

bed.

"Get better soon,

Sakura."

He leaves.

_**Don't…leave…**_

* * *

Over the next two weeks, Gaara, Hinata, Naruto, and Sasuke come to visit. Twice, Sakura's father comes to visit, but only while she's sleeping, and she only remembers passing glimpses of him as she'd fade in and out of consciousness. Ino only visits once, and she doesn't even enter the room. Sakura just glances up and sees her sister's face in the window of the door, and as soon as their eyes catch, the blonde walks away.

"I wasn't going to kill myself, you know," Sakura says to Sasuke one day; it's the last day she's stuck in that same hospital room before she gets to go home. Sasuke's been coming every day before school, and he always makes her sit quietly and watch the television, though neither of them is interested. A man and woman are on screen, having a romantic moment.

Sakura immediately has his attention.

"I just wanted to see you fly," she says, not looking at him, "I know you have wings. I felt them."

The woman sobs to the man. He strokes her cheek.

Sasuke just stares at her in silence for a minute, neither denying nor verifying her statement, and she stares right back.

"It was stupid of you. If I hadn't reached out for you, you would be dead," he says, and receives a shrug in response.

The man whispers sweet-nothings to calm the woman down.

"But you did reach out for me, and I'm not dead…" she says, but her eyes glaze over as she becomes lost to her thoughts, "My mother's funeral is this weekend. It's not an open casket. When the cars collided, half of my mother's body was shattered upon impact. She was cremated. We're spreading her ashes out at the beach by the house I used to live in. My mother loved that house. I'd appreciate it if you would come."

The man and woman kiss.

"I don't think that would be a very good idea."

Sasuke grabs the remote and changes the channel.

* * *

When Sakura returns home, Hinata carrying the girl's only bag, slung over her shoulder, no one is there.

The house feels dead without the moans and groans or screams or shouts. And Sakura finds herself missing the sounds that used to give her chills.

_**Because at least the chills meant that you were home.**_

"You can drop those there," Sakura murmurs, removing her shoes before walking slowly in the direction of her parent's bedroom. She takes a deep breath before opening the door.

Everything belonging to her mother is gone; packed away and placed in the darker corners of the closet so that her father could avoid the reminder of the wife he had lost his love for. But the half of the bed her mother slept in is still unmade, her linens left just as they always were on her off-days.

Sakura slowly and wearily makes her way over to her mother's bedside, crawling under the covers. Lying there under the sheets, she finally lets the truth soak in; her mother is dead. She isn't coming back. She cannot fix her fairy-tale life that broke so long ago, no matter how many friends she makes, no matter how many angels she befriends, no matter how many cell phones she steals for Ino. Ino will still make love with boys she doesn't know on her parent's sofa, Karin and Ami will still frown at her and call her a whore and make fun of her, and Sasuke will always be that unreachable piece of heaven, no matter how close he is. Because he doesn't love her and he never will, because angel boys don't love little broken girls with little broken fairy-tales.

_**PleaseComeBack.**_

Tears stream from the corners of the girl's eyes, dripping on and sullying the only visible remnant of her mother's existence.

Hinata climbs into the bed behind Sakura and presses her body to her friend's. Because she needs this reassurance just as much as the pink-haired girl.

"I was pregnant," the smaller girl says, "I had a baby. And as all babies do, she probably just wanted to hear that she was beautiful. And she was beautiful. But she died before I even knew she existed."

_**And she was beautiful.**_

Silent sobs just rack Sakura's immobile body, but Hinata knows that Sakura knows she understands and that she's there for her.

"Do you want me to call Sasuke?" Hinata asks tentatively, placing a hand on Sakura's arm.

Sakura doesn't move or say a word.

Hinata slowly gets up, moving toward the phone, and Sakura wants to say anything to get her friend to stay with her, but she can't find the will to do anything, because she wasn't strong enough and she cannot save anyone. So she curls up, pulls the covers over her head, and sort of hopes she will suffocate.

And she doesn't know how much time has passed, but eventually she feels someone larger than herself against her back, and an arm around her waist. And though she's never realized before, he smells of smoke but feels of light, and she instantly knows who it is, and she reaches out from her cocoon to take his hand and she pulls it to her breast.

_**And she was beautiful.**_

So he can feel the little _beatbeat_ of her heart.

"I will never let you lose that," he murmurs. But she cannot hear him over her hic-hiccups, but she takes comfort in the rumbling of his voice deep in his chest that feels like music to the touch.

_**And she was beautiful.**_

She slowly shifts, still wound her messy tangle of blankets, and curls into Sasuke, though he cannot see her among the twist of her mother's quilts. And Sakura wonders when among her wanting Sasuke to be her angel, she began wanting him as something more as well.

_**Please, let **__**somebody**__** fly us away from here.**_

**End of Part I**

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: I wrote the part where Sakura's mother dies shortly before I posted chapter four, I think. In all honesty, at this point I have no idea how long this story could possibly be. It could be anywhere from sixteen to twenty-five chapters. I doubt longer than that, but it is possible. I hope that for those of you that have been complaining about lack of angst, this chapter gave a little back to the story. And wow. 150 reviews and 4 C2s! Free hugs and kisses to everyone.**_

_**And for those of you have given me requests for my request-story that has been in the making for sort-of forever, I **__**am**__** going to write it. I swear. I just also have to work on this story, and finally update 'Silence End,' first. And if any of you would like to send me a prompt for my request-story in the making, please do.  
**__**  
**__**Chapter Eleven: 'Speeding Cars' by Imogen Heap**_

_**Please review! I appreciate it!**_

_**-MT**_


	12. Ino's Interlude

**Part II**

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter twelve: Ino's Interlude**_

_Used to be one of the rotten ones  
And I liked you for that  
Now you're all gone, got your make-up on  
And you're not coming back  
(Can't you come back?)_

_- "Anthems for a Seventeen Year-Old Girl" by Broken Social Scene_

* * *

She was born beautiful. rich. lucky.

A world of dresses, make-up, smiles, tea, luncheons.

Childhood was a blur for her. Full of nothing. The only things she could remember of her mother was the smile her she would give her other rich country-club friends even though her husband beat her, that bright lipstick she wore (the _coverupcoverup__**cover**__**up**_), and the shocking ice-blue of her eyes.

Children should be seen and not heard.

_**One.**_

Ino is four years old. She dresses in the frilly skirts and blouses her mother gives her. She plays with her real-china tea-set (_luckylucky__**lucky**_), pretending to drink from the tiny cups, even though she doesn't like tea. Her mother is gone at a brunch with the pretty ladies she's always with. The ladies that show up at the front door, and Ino is supposed to smile for them, because she got her mother's dimples and her mother wants her to show them off. There is no speaking. Just standing, looking pretty as she wears her pricey-dresses and just _wisheswisheswishes_ she could look as beautiful as her mother. Ino is like a doll. Because as long as she's silent, she gets to hold mommy's hand when she gets home, and she gets to have the maids curl her hair into perfect ringlets, and she gets to have a cookie after dinner, even though she's got more baby-fat than her friend Sakura, whose mother cleans the house, and so Ino gets to go to their house sometimes.

Ino only sees her daddy at dinnertime, when mommy and he talk about grown-up things, and she sits in her booster-seat silently, pretending that she has an imaginary friend who sits across from her, and they can speak to each other through their minds.

But mommy's gone and Ino is tired of drinking tea with her imaginary friend, and so she goes into mommy's room, even though she's not supposed to, and she wants to be _beautiful_ like mommy is, and so she puts on mommy's lipstick and mommy's eye-shadow, mommy's blush, and she wonders why she looks like a clown, and not a princess. But mommy comes home and sees the mess she's made, and Ino gets slapped across the cheek, and sent to her room, and she doesn't get dinner that night.

_**Two.**_

Ino is six.

Sometimes she leaves her room at night for a mid-night snack because her tummy is so empty it hurts, and when she tries to sneak down the stairs, she sees daddy hitting mommy, yelling at her because it's 'all her fault' (_luckylucky__**lucky**_).

Ino isn't allowed to hold mommy's hand, or smile for the pretty ladies when they come to the door because she's 'too old for that now.' She spends most of her time with Sakura and her mommy instead, because she can hold Sakura's hand whenever she wants.

Ino's pretty dresses get prettier and prettier, and she sort-of hopes she won't be a princess because she doesn't want to get bruises like mommy.

_**Three.**_

Ino is eight.

She tells her teacher about her imaginary friend, and for some reason, her teacher tells her that her friend doesn't exist. And that makes Ino cry because she wants her to exist so much, because the other kids in her class know that her daddy hits her mommy and they say that her mommy is a whore –that she sleeps with the other kids' daddies, and Ino doesn't understand what's wrong with sleeping. But somehow because of it, she has no real friends.

Ino's teacher calls her father and tells him about Ino's 'pal.' Ino's father doesn't let her eat until she admits that it doesn't exist.

Ino goes without food for three days before crying and apologizing to her friend over and over again, because her tummy hurts soso_so_ bad, and she just wants to eat dinner with mommy and daddy or make cookies with Sakura again, so she tells her daddy that her friend doesn't exist.

At dinner that night, Sakura and her mother eat with the Yamanaka family. Sakura giggles and tells Ino she eats like a pig and Ino's daddy says, "She's right Ino. You're going be fat and ugly if you keep eating like that."

Ino decides that maybe she doesn't like eating so much, if it means that daddy is going to talk to her like that.

_**Four.**_

Ino is ten.

She feels weightless, like maybe she will be able to fly if the wind blew hard enough. And even though hers stomach hurts all the time, she thinks it's worth it so that she might be able to become like one of those angels that Sakura is always talking about, though she would never admit it. Because she'd rather be an angel than a princess, because her mother looks anemic and sickly all the time because she has something called and STD that she got from sleeping with someone's father (she knows what 'sleeping around' means now) and she's going to die soon.

Ino goes to a different school where the students love her. They practically worship her, looking past the bones that stick out at unnatural angles, and the bruise-like shadows beneath her eyes, and instead they look at non-existent cleavage she displays, and her full lips, and she kisses everyone because they pay her for just a little pleasure, because maybe she's just not silent enough for her father to give her what she wants anymore.

Half-way through the year, Ino's mother dies, but she doesn't cry, because the only part of her that Ino can remember is the cracked cherry-red lips and the ice-blue eyes that she wishes she hadn't inherited because she knows her father sees the failure her mother was in her own eyes, because now he takes his beating out on her, and every now and then she can remember her mother's soft hands around her tiny ones, but the memory is so faint that it hurts and she will go out and kiss someone because she'd rather feel someone else touching her in a different way than remember.

_**Five.**_

Ino is twelve.

She is admitted to a hospital because of her 'disorder.' Ino hates her father for admitting her to this horrid place full of faceless people with binge-eating disorder and bulimia, because they're nowhere near as pretty as she is, because she had the control not to eat, whereas the binge-eaters ate and expanded, and the bulimics ate and then expelled it, their teeth decaying and their lips blistering (_because it's his fault that she's like this)_.

She decides she hates Sakura for her talk of angels because they can't exist in a world where with every attempt she takes to fly, another feather is plucked from her wings. So she decides that maybe she doesn't want to be a princess or an angel –that she'll leave those to her mother and Sakura, and that she'll be a queen instead. Because a queen has power, control.

So she forgets about that doll with the blonde curls and the frilly dresses with the tea-sets and the dimples. Because if she wants to survive in a world where mommies die of STDs, and dolls are broken, and imaginary friends are killed, she's got to be the one to inflict this damage.

_**Six.**_

Ino is thirteen.

She has been released from the hospital. Her father is taken to prison for fraud, and he dies shortly after from cardiac arrest. With no other relatives, Sakura's mother adopts her, and Ino keeps her father's small left-over fortune to herself, treating herself to expensive clothing and make-up while she feels pleasure at seeing her 'sister' that made her suffer feel pain.

And maybe sometimes she shoplifts birth-control pills from the corner store, because as she gets older, the boys don't want kisses, they want something else, and she needs the money because without looks she can't be queen, and if she's not queen, then she's just Ino, and the thought of being just Ino makes her want to cry.

But she doesn't ignore Sakura like everyone else at school does, just because the pink-haired girl grew up funny, with Schizophrenia, though maybe ignoring her would hurt more than physical abuse or making her pull pranks for her so that she'd get caught. Maybe because she keeps remembering that doll with the curls and the dimples that wanted so so _badly_ to be what Sakura was, that she doesn't want to see the only proof of possible happiness to die.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.**_

_**A/N: I wrote that at the same time I wrote Hinata's Interlude. I did a whole lot of writing that week…Sorry about the delay, but I'm having trouble deciding which path I want to take with this story. If you actually read my A/Ns, please tell me whether or not you want me to wrap this story up soon, or if you want it to continue for a while. Thanks! And by the way, there may be some chapter reformatting. Having the playlist at the end seems a little weird, because if I want to have people associate a song with a chapter, shouldn't have it before? I dunno. Anyways. I'm probably going to go back through a few chapters and fix some spelling mistakes and inconsistancies.**_

**_Edit: Reformatting has been completed._**

_**Please review!**_

_**-MT**_


	13. Pretty Girl

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Thirteen: Pretty Girl**_

_Has someone taken your faith?  
It's real, the pain you feel  
The life, the love you'd die to heal  
The hope that starts the broken hearts  
You trust, you must confess_

_- "The Best of You" by The Foo Fighters_

* * *

When Sakura returns to school, people give her funny looks or just completely avoid looking at her in general. But she thinks that maybe, for Ino, it's even worse. Because when their mother died, even if she wasn't Ino's real mother, she might as well have been, for she had been in the blonde girl's life as long as she had been in Sakura's, and Ino didn't have an angel to hold her when she cried. And no girl deserves to lose two mothers when they're still a kid.

Ino puts on a tough face. She goes to school looking like maybe nothing happened; her hair is straight and in its high ponytail, her face perfectly made up. Though Sakura can see that the girl is a mess. She doesn't even remember to let Sakura out of the car a block away from the school that morning, so Sakura sees when the blonde stumbles out of the car and vomits in the bushes just half a minute before Shikamaru shows up out of nowhere and takes her hand. And so Ino puts on that strangled smile and lets go of his hand, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Sakura!"

The pink-haired girl is surprised at herself when seeing the blonde boy running towards her makes her want to tear up a little. She doesn't consider herself overly emotional –no, perhaps just thoughtful.

Hinata follows timidly after Naruto, tapping her pointer fingers together in an awkward habit the shy girl can't seem to get rid of.

"I'm sorry I didn't come to visit you in the hospital; some things came up," he winces apologetically, "How are you?"

Sakura tries to offer him a smile, but somehow she knows it doesn't look right. As though she can see her reflection in Naruto's reactions, "I'm…my arm doesn't hurt anymore."

That is somehow the only reply she can give that answers his question truthfully, and while she can see it doesn't fully satisfy the boy, he doesn't press it. Instead, he offers one of his signature grins that he hopes will light up her day and says, "Hinata and I are looking for a job for her; Kurenai left that to me, since Kiba's busy with his own job after school and can't drive her to any of the interviews."

Sakura offers a distracted twitch of the lips in reply as she sees Shikamaru walk towards another girl and leave a dejected-looking Ino, "Oh, and how is that going? Have you found anything?"

Hinata flushes and squeaks out, "I've passed out from embarrassment every time."

Naruto rubs the small girl's shoulder reassuringly and her blush deepens, "You'll find something Hinata. I believe in you."

"Naruto! Come see this! Kiba's trying out an awesome move on his new skateboard!"

The blue-eyed boy's eyes seem to brighten, "Really? Come on, Hinata! Let's go! Wanna come, Sakura?"

She shakes her head subtly and brushes her fingers across of one the peeled scabs on her cheek, "No, thank you."

**-=Ino=-**

_SheLovesHimSheLovesHimNotSheLovesHimSheLovesHimNot.  
__SheLovesHimSheLovesHimSheLovesHim._

It was…difficult.

Like an itch she couldn't scratch or a burn she couldn't cool, her mistakes were grating at her until her skin was chaffed and bloodied and she was dying on the inside. As though maybe all anyone needed in order to see what was really happening was to scratch away at that first layer of flesh, and then when they came to the sinewy muscle beneath, her soul would leak and spurt out in blackish ruined gore and they would _laugh_ because she could act all high and mighty but really she was nothing_. _And beneath it all, she was really just a little girl who wanted her not-real mommy to come and tell it would all be alright, though she'd tell herself over and over again, _"No, both of your mothers were fools who __never__ loved you."_

Sometimes she would stare into her bathroom mirror after her shower, naked, water dripping from her long-ago ruined body, her make-up running down her face like spilt ink. She would part those perfect rouge lips and whisper over and over again in reassurance, '_I don't love him. I don't love him. I don't love him.'_ Because she doesn't know what she would do if she did.

She thinks maybe she's made of reverse butterflies. She started out as a beautiful winged creature of dazzling colors, but she's turning into a chrysalis and maybe someday she'll be an ugly caterpillar. Or maybe she already is.

Because _he's_ here with her. And she's not with him. He's here, looking at her, seeing the inner her, but not the outer. And the outer is all she's ever been good for. And she's out there, fulfilling every other guy's needs except for his.

He doesn't say anything to her, even though he knows what happens in her family (her sexual activities aside –he can't know about that, because then he'd leave her, and even though she _doesn't love him, can't love him, will never love him_, she needs him more than anything else right now) but he's there, touching her hand or pressing his lips to her hair or smiling at her. Because he's never felt any sort of true grief, but he knows she's grieving and he'll give her all he can while still remaining Shikamaru.

He started out as another plaything with a pretty face. But maybe she should have known that she couldn't just use him and throw him away when she first met him. After all, they had had an actual conversation. She couldn't quite remember what it was about, and she's sure it was probably about the weather or maybe nothing at all, but he spoke to her and saw her through charming half-lidded eyes that weren't clouded with lust or arousal.

And they talked, or they touched, or they sat together, and never once had he so much as stuck his hand under the hem of her shirt or touched her butt or grazed her breasts or even looked at her the wrong way. They kissed. And when they kissed it was softly, with him tucking that one untamable lock of hair behind her ear and stroking her cheek with the back of his long gentle fingers. He wasn't a tousle under the covers or a ravaging in the broom-closet. He was a friend. One that she _didn't love, couldn't love, wouldn't ever love_ because she was Ino the Unbreakable, never mind that she was already long broken.

So that morning before school when she stands dripping, naked, in front of her full-length mirror knowing she hasn't had her period in two months, she begins to cry spilt-ink tears. Because if she is to have a –she stops and whispers– 'Baby_,' _then it isn't _his. _And for someone she _doesn't love, can't love, won't ever love_ she thinks that maybe she wants very much from him.

And she's sad and confused when she goes to school, and she throws up in the bushes and she's _sososo scared._ And then Shikamaru takes her hand and she wants to slap it away and say, _This is your fault. I'm pregnant, and it's not your baby. Why didn't you _love_ me so that it could have been yours?_

But she knows she doesn't want it to be his, because that would make him just like all of the other boys she has entertained.

_ILoveYouILoveYouNotILoveYouILoveYouNot  
__ILoveYouILoveYouILoveYouSoDamnMuch!_

Her gut is churning and she thinks she's going to throw up again, only this time from nervousness and realization because she has to tell him now, and she says, "Shikamaru, I have to talk to you-"

"Yo, Shikamaru! Help me with my history!" Tayuya, a girl Ino particularly despises, shouts.

Shikamaru gives Ino a hesitant smile, having seemed to not have heard her cut-off sentence, "Troublesome."

He walks away and Ino's churning gut constricts and she wants to cry but she is Ino the _(already broken)_ Unbreakable and she can't cry no matter what. So she runs to the girls' restroom before she can.

**-=Sakura=-**

Kiba stares at me

almost creepily.

I realize

I'm probably not the smoothest

sight. But

it still feels sort of painful

to know that people look at me and

just see the

fading yellow bruises

and the pink

dotted lines that

outline my face and neck where

the scabs have

mostly

peeled away.

I can't

hide behind my hair. There is

too little of it, and I realize that

it is awkward and choppy.

_**Don't hide your face, without one, you're nobody.**_

Last night I took the scissors and

tried to even it out a little bit but

I'm aware that I still look like

a street kid.

"How'd you get hurt,

Sakura?"

Kiba asks with

unmasked curiosity, as

always,

and I feel like a

science experiment.

I roll my shoulders

a little bit to

ease the tension that is

built up inside of me.

I can see Hinata and

Naruto

sharing a look at

my expense,

adding to my discomfort.

"I was in a

car accident,"

I offer another

unsatisfactory smile.

_**Block it out, bleed it out, it'll go away.**_

Now that I've

let my memories of my mother

come back into my mind

they come without warning

and I find myself almost

feeling crippled

beneath the weight of them.

I can feel my eyes

tear up a little,

the water gathering up

to rest on my lower eyelid

but I blink them away.

I bite my lip

to focus on the pain

rather than the thoughts,

and sniff.

"Sakura,

could I please see you in the

hall?"

I feel my gut clench

the

same way it always does when

I have to come in

private contact

with a teacher.

I'm vaguely aware of the

collective 'Oooh' that

several of the kids in the

class

make, but

I can barely hear it through

the cotton that

seems to have clogged my ears.

But

Kurenai leads me into the

hall and

gives me an encouraging

grin.

"Sakura,

your art has improved

so much

that Deidara-sensei,

the AP art teacher that

transferred here over

winter break has

agreed to

take you into

his class.

Congratulations.

You will be transferred

to that class

in two days time."

"_Have I failed you as a parent?"_

_**If she'd made it to today...what would she think?**_

* * *

"Here," Sasuke says, shoving a bag into Sakura's hands when she enters the classroom. She stumbles a bit and loses her shoe in surprise.

"Good morning, Sasuke," she says, "What is this?"

"Open it and see."

He sits on top of the nearest table as she puts her shoe back on, and then sits beside him as she fishes through the bag, and pulls out a long-sleeved navy-blue dress. She looks up at him in question, whilst feeling the fabric between her fingertips. Cashmere.

"I guessed the size. Tell me if it doesn't fit."

He meets her gaze evenly, but where hers is full of confusion, his is blank.

And then he

smiles.

It's not a big one, and it's gone so quickly, Sakura's not sure whether or not it really occurred. But it makes her happy, and she doesn't silently question the gift any longer.

_**AnAngelSmile.**_

When Kakashi arrives, they discuss a book they've all been reading. _The Good Earth_ by Pearl S. Buck. A man starting out as a poor farmer with all the trust in his land is enticed by the dishonest world of riches and power. As the man gets more involved in material things, he abandons his harvest. In the end, his family turns against him and the one he cares for most dies, and as he dies, he realizes where he went wrong.

Kakashi divides the class in half and tells them to give an oral presentation on why they think the book is called _The Good Earth._ Sakura is in a group with Sasuke and Naruto, and they both give her a general outline of the book.

"So basically…the earth determines the book?" she asks, tracing her index finger over the illustration of the man on the cover.

Naruto grins, "Exactly. You know what? I think you just gave us our answer."

At the end of class, Sasuke waits at the door for Sakura to finish putting away her things. Sakura can't help the small smile on her face as she glances at him from the corner of her eye. She's just so happy he's here.

"Sasuke, why don't you go on ahead? I'd like to speak to Sakura, privately," Kakashi interjects, interrupting Sakura's thoughts.

Sasuke stares at her for a moment, and she nods. He nods in reply and leaves the room silently.

Kakashi spins in his swivel-chair and gives Sakura a soft smile she doesn't see, "I just wanted to tell you that I'm glad that you are alright, and that you have my condolences."

_**Are you really alright?**_

The images of her mother wipe away Sakura's glee once again, like someone rubbing their hand over dry-erase marker, leaving an oily residue behind. She briefly remembers the scarf she has folded under her pillow that she received for Christmas; she's still not worn it in fear that Ino will take it.

"Um…thank you, Kakashi-sensei," she mumbles, fidgeting. She chews her lower lip and averts her gaze.

"Just Kakashi, Sakura, if you've forgotten," he replies with his smiling voice that reminds her of peanut-butter sandwiches when she was a little girl, and how smooth they were, "I'm afraid you've gotten quite far behind these past two weeks when you were gone, and I'd appreciate it if I could have a conference with your father tomorrow afternoon. Is that alright?"

The bell rings.

Sakura strokes her hair and is momentarily distracted by the length of it before responding, "Um…I'll see if he can, but I don't know if he can make it in on such short notice," she wonders how much easier this would be if it were her mother instead.

He nods, "Of course. Take care of yourself, Sakura."

_**You just can't stop disappointing people.**_

After receiving a tardy-slip, she runs out the door. She stops right outside his classroom and rubs away the stray tears that have made their way down her cheeks, though she doesn't remember crying. The journey to Speech class is a long one, because she walks slowly instead of rushing, trying to clear her head.

"Hey, what are you doing in the halls, un?" A tall man with blue eyes and blonde hair with a thick lock over one eye (it reminds her of Ino's) stops her. His harsh demeanor drops when he sees her crying-swollen eyes that are a little too large for her face, "What's wrong, un?"

_**Does he really care?**_

Sakura bites her lip and runs a hand through her choppy hair and offers a smile, but her lips tremble, "I have a pass."

"Anything I can help you with?" he asks, not bothering to examine the slip of paper.

She catches a glimpse of his nametag, "You are Deidara-sensei? You must be my new art teacher."

"You are Haruno Sakura?" he asks, "Your art is amazing –especially for a lower classman, un. You have a knack for drawing angels."

She wipes her cheeks on her sleeve and gives him a sheepish smile, "Thank you. But I have Speech class. It was nice meeting you."

She begins to walk faster towards her class when Deidara-sensei calls after her, "If you need it, you can always come to my classroom, un!"

Sakura turns her head and nods to acknowledge she heard him, before proceeding up the stairs. She enters her classroom quietly and hands her teacher her tardy-slip before slinking into the seat beside Gaara.

"Oh, Sakura, how great it is of you to join us! Now we are complete! We can proceed! Everyone…organize yourselves in order of birthday, excluding the year unless two people share a birthday, please!" Gai-sensei orders buoyantly, "First, Gaara, when is your birthday?"

"January 19th."

"I missed your birthday?" Sakura murmurs sadly, "Why didn't you tell me?"

He stares at her, and she can't help but think it is in a different manner than before her accident. She wonders if she's really that horrible to look at, "The day I came to visit you in the hospital was my birthday."

"Okay, Gaara, please go stand in front of the book shelf! Yosh!"

_**Perhaps he still cares.**_

**-=Ino=-**

_You have to tell him. Tell him. Tell him._

Shikamaru walks through the door, right past Ino's desk without saying a word, and in the desk furthest away from hers. She bites her thumbnail and strokes her ponytail in an attempt to calm herself. She can feel her mistakes grating away at her mask, and she knows that if she isn't careful, she may have a full-out breakdown.

She spends the whole class period fidgeting and thinking to _the thing_ that's growing inside of her, _This is your fault._

Once class is over, she immediately runs to her boyfriend as he exits the room and puts her hand on his arm. He doesn't look at her.

"Shikamaru-"

"What do you want, Ino?" he asks, pulling his arm out of her grasp. She stifles a gasp as though this action burnt her, and she immediately places her disregarded hand over her belly.

"I…what's wrong?"

She can't tell him, not while he's upset.

He faces her, and while his face is impassive, she can see a weary aggravation building up inside of him, "Ino, I'm not going to just be one of your toys. If you're not looking for a real relationship, I'm not going to hold you back from what it is you really want. I'm breaking up with you."

She's not sure where it hurts, but when he walks away from her, it hurts _sosobadly_ and she can't make it stop. She backs up against the wall and slides down, unable to keep herself standing as the first few tears spill down her cheeks. _"Mom...I need you…"_

_ILoveYouILoveYouILoveYouSoDamnMuch!_

**-=Sakura=-**

When I go to meet Ino

at her locker she

isn't there.

"Hello,

Sasuke."

He nods at me in greeting.

_**Touch him, just to see if he's real.**_

I touch his hand

and

look up at him to

see if it is alright

and he

doesn't protest so

I hold his hand

in mine.

"Have you seen

Ino?"

He looks away,

"She came by

earlier.

She was crying and

she left without saying

a word.

I think she has

already left,"

"-Do you,

want a ride

home?"

I nod,

though I can't help but wonder if

my mother knows

that I'm disobeying her.

When they get in the car, Sakura blurts out, "Can we go to your house?"

Sasuke seems surprised for a moment, before all expression is erased completely. He doesn't say anything for a moment, just checks that her seatbelt is buckled and that the doors are all locked before backing out of the school parking lot. Sakura feels like maybe she's said something wrong and that he might be angry.

"Um…I'm sorry, I just thought that since I've never been to your house, and you've been to mine, and because nobody is waiting for me back at mine that…"

Sasuke glances at her, but doesn't say anything.

Sakura becomes increasingly uncomfortable throughout the car ride. Eventually the car stops.

"Hideki's Hair Salon?" she asks in disbelief.

He reaches over and fingers her choppy hair in contemplation before nodding and getting out of the car. Before she can get out, he opens her door for her. She looks down at the ground as she murmurs quietly, "Thank you."

The store smells of perfume and hairspray and it reminds Sakura of the way Ino's mother's bedroom smelled when they would play dress-up, and for a second she feels like a little girl again, her hand swallowed in her father's as they would go to visit the Yamanaka household. She wonders if things might have turned out a little differently if she had said something that day when she saw Ino's father hitting Ino's mother. And if Ino would still be crying by herself right now if she had.

"Go change into this," a tall stocky woman with a nose-ring and bleached hair says, thrusting a purple smock at Sakura and pointing her in the direction of a bathroom.

Sakura spends ten minutes trying to get the shirt off over the cast and sling she wears. When she finally removes it, she stares at herself in the mirror for another five minutes, just prodding her lightly-bruised abdomen. She's so thin that her ribs stick out the same way Ino's did years before, back when the girl had been submitted to the hospital for a year, and she thinks that maybe that even as emaciated as she is, she still wouldn't be light enough to fly. She finally pulls the smock over her head and exits the restroom.

Both Sasuke and the lady with the nose-ring are staring at her when she leaves. She blushes, "I couldn't get my shirt off with the cast."

The woman immediately gets to work, "My name is Kana, and I'll be doing your hair today. Sit down over here. I'm going to wash and condition your hair first."

Sakura looks at Sasuke with a questioning look. He just motions to the seat in front of the sink. She bites her lip and complies.

It feels weird, having someone wash her hair for her. She remembers her mother's soapy fingers stroking her scalp, and she shampoo is the same scent –strawberry. She closes her eyes and just basks in the feeling of it.

"So, is he your boyfriend?" Sakura's eyes flicker open and she sees that the woman standing over her is grinning, "He's the prettiest boy I've ever seen."

Sakura focuses her eyes on the light above her head –she doesn't dare look at Sasuke, because she's sure he would have heard the woman's question, and she doesn't want to know his reaction. She bites her lip, "Um…no."

Kana leans over Sakura to pick up a bottle of conditioner and whispers to her, "But you want him to be?"

Sakura doesn't say anything, but the woman seems to understand by the look on her face. She pats Sakura's smocked shoulder with dripping fingers before wrapping the girl's hair in a towel and leading her to another chair, this one in front of a mirror and a myriad of styling tools.

She consults Sasuke, who stands nearby, "You sure?"

He nods once, leaving Sakura confused.

After an hour of snipping and drying and straightening, Kana leads Sakura into another room, this one smaller and without a mirror, not giving Sakura a chance to look at herself. The woman strokes Sakura's face with a warm wash cloth, and then begins to apply several different cosmetics.

Sakura thinks the moisturizer feels weird, and she the unfamiliar feeling of cover-up makes her feel like her face has been baked under the sun.

"Change into your dress," Sasuke says, handing her the bag that he must have retrieved from the car at one point during the make-over process. Sakura nods and reenters the bathroom from earlier. After struggling to pull on the dress, she looks at herself and almost doesn't recognize herself.

_**You're like a green rose. Not pretty, but still a flower. You're almost there.**_

* * *

Sakura thinks too much. At first she thinks that maybe Sasuke is nice because he bought her a pretty dress and made her hair prettier than it has ever been in her life, but then when she thinks about the make-up and the complete clothing change she begins to worry. What if the reason why he does these things for her is because she's ugly? She has friends, but she sees the way they look at her now, and she doesn't know if it's with sympathy or pity or maybe even complete disgust now that she's this little broken girl.

Sakura murmurs into her knees, loudly enough for Sasuke to hear clearly, "Why did you do that? Are you…ashamed to be seen with me the way I am?"

_**Are you…just a **__**freak**__**?**_

Sasuke jerks his head to look at her with another one of his inscrutable expressions, and Sakura motions to the road so that he will pay attention to it. And while he doesn't entirely turn his gaze, his eyes flicker back towards it every few seconds before turning back to face it, putting his hand on her shoulder, "If I were ashamed of you, then the rest of the world wouldn't have a hope."

She buries her head into her arms that rest on top of her knees.

"Thank you."

* * *

After driving for a little over half an hour, Sasuke parks the car.

"You brought me to…" she murmurs, her eyes wide. Sasuke leads her down a set of cobblestone steps.

The light outside has mostly faded, but Sakura can see by the light of a couple of tiki-torches that a small group of her friends are standing around, talking to each other. The group quiets when they see Sakura and Sasuke approach. Hinata, Gaara, and Naruto stand around a blanket with a two picnic baskets set on top, torches surrounding the scene. They're all dressed up nicely, in varying shades of darker clothing.

Naruto clears his throat, "Well…the reason I didn't come visit you in the hospital, was because I was trying to set this up. I got the dudes in charge to let us stay out here later than their hours during this time of year and I prepared the food with Hinata's help…but since I made a portion of it, sorry if it's not edible. But anyways, we all put this together because we couldn't go to your mother's funeral, and because you didn't get to have the fun part afterwards where you get to see all of your family and have cake and cheese-cubes and stuff. So…we're here for you."

Sakura smiles widely as the tears come down and she runs forward and hugs Naruto, knocking him off balance. He laughs and blushes slightly, patting her on the back.

"W-well, that's as good a speech as any!" Hinata squeaks, pulling out a bottle of sparkling apple cider and a few plastic cups. She passes the bottle to Naruto, who pulls the cork out of the top of the bottle with his teeth. The two pour four cups of the beverage and pass it around.

"To having lived this far," Gaara says, holding up his glass in a toast.

"To having lived this far," the others echo, and they clink their cups together and drink.

**-=Ino=-**

After school, Ino goes out and drives. She drives until she doesn't know where she is anymore, she pulls into the parking lot of a 7/11, and she cries. She curls into a ball in the front seat and just sobs for an hour. When she's through, she wipes her face, gets out of the car, and goes inside.

She buys a 32 oz. Very Cherry Slush and downs half of it before she even reaches the register.

Large empty black eyes meet her puffy red ones.

"You're that asshole in my Geometry class," Ino states dryly. He blinks at her.

"Hello, beautiful," he says, giving her an empty smile, typing up the product number on his machine, "Would that be all for you today?"

She stares at him for a second before nodding.

"That would be three dollars," he says, and takes her bills, giving her precise change, "My name is Sai. If you thought I gave you sufficient service today, on the bottom of your receipt fill in my name, rip it off at the perforation on the bottom, and insert it in the box by the door as you exit. Have a nice day."

"You're really weird, Sai," Ino says with a smile, "Sit with me at lunch tomorrow."

She exits the 7/11 feeling a little bit better for no particular reason.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, 'The Good Earth' by Pearl S. Buck, or anything else.**_

_**Author's Note: Um. Okay. I know it's late. Really late. But the chapter is the longest one yet, so forgive me? It would have been out a lot later if it weren't for my fabulous new beta, Ira Feye. Give her a big thanks, everybody! And happy late Halloween. I was a fancy cliché Goodwill witch. Nothing better than wearing reject cocktail dresses at a tenth of their original cost and making them into a costume. Next update will definitely not take a month.**_

_**In other news, I finally got the first one-shot of my request-story done. Check it out, even though it sucks, will ya? And request something for me?**_

_**-MT**_


	14. Moving On

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Fourteen: Moving On**_

_Feel the touch of grief  
You stand in disbelief  
Can steal the earth from right beneath you  
And falling in so far  
They know just where you are  
Yeah, but there ain't no way to reach you_

_-"Freedom" by David Gray_

* * *

When Sakura wakes up, she begins a new routine.

She doesn't stare out the window at the not-yet sun-brightened world, waiting for an angel to take her by the hands and lead her away. She doesn't then slowly put on her ill-fitting clothing, thinking of everything, but nothing that matters. She doesn't say goodbye to a mother and father that won't look at her.

When Sakura wakes up, she picks out an only slightly-too-large outfit that belonged to her mother (she removed her mother's belongings from the dark corners of her father's closet, and put them in the brighter corners of her own) and goes to Ino's bathroom and showers with hot water. Ino doesn't say anything; she just looks at her wearily as she passes through. When Sakura feels satisfied with how clean she is, she pulls on the clean clothing and brushes her hair. For the first time in her life, she applies cover-up on her own, lightly patting it over the not-quite-healed blemishes on her face and neck as she's seen her sister do. She takes some of her mother's older, paler lip balm and hopes that maybe someday soon her lips will heal from their chapped and bruised state.

She can't help but be surprised by how highly stocked the refrigerator is with six-packs of cheap beer.

_**When he can't find solace in his children, he looks for it in the bottom of the bottle. Hurts, doesn't it?**_

But she eats breakfast she has prepared by herself, just like any other morning, and leaves some wrapped in tin foil for her one parent, and a plate of hot food out for Ino.

She's finished getting ready early –she got up earlier than usual—and so she walks to school under her own jurisdiction. On her way she sees Sasuke lying in the front lawn of one of the cookie-cutter houses. The grass is a little taller than that of the other houses, the paint job a little less new.

Sakura stops at the curb.

"Hello, Sasuke."

He sits up and then nods at her in greeting.

"Is this where you live?" she asks, fully absorbing the way the plants run wild and the house, while identical to the other houses in every way, somehow seems to let the earth absorb it in a homier way than one could probably imagine one of these carbon-copy homes could manage.

"Aa," he says, "Itachi and I live here by ourselves."

Sakura bites her lip before remembering the cosmetic applied there, and she quickly licks her teeth clean of any lip balm, "Would it be okay if…I mean, could I come in?"

Sasuke looks up at her through his dark eyelashes, imagining her as that stumbling, dirty, socially-incapable girl she was when he first met her. Now she stands before him with purpose, clean and smoothed, and he knows she is at least a little bit happier than she was. And through all this, she's still the same person.

"Yeah. Come on," he gets up fluidly, "But you might not like what you see."

He holds the door open for her, but she barely remembers to murmur a thank you as she enters. He doesn't notice her distraction anyway as he calls out at a regular indoor-volume, "Itachi, you'd better be wearing pants."

The house is dim, the living room air thick with the smoke of the cigarette in the hand of a young man in a bathrobe and a pair of old sweatpants that sits in a leather recliner. His skin is a tad waxy looking, and she can't tell if that is because he is unhealthy, or because of obvious humidity. The half-asleep man gives her a half-wave in greeting before taking another drag from the cigarette.

The room isn't particularly organized, but it isn't unclean. A bit dusty on the shelves and around the fireplace, but the rug looks vacuumed enough and all piles of paper and unnecessary items are shoved against walls or in corners of the room. The furniture is new and decent looking, the two boys' taste in furnishings impeccable, though slightly cluttered with sports magazines and television guides. An actual television sits atop the fireplace, images of a kung-fu movie flicking across the screen.

"It's this room, my room, the bathroom, the –what would you call it?—study, and the kitchen," he says as he begins to drift in the direction of his bedroom, "Itachi decided he'd prefer to sleep in front of the television than in a bedroom, so we converted his room into a storage room of sorts."

_**Is this how angels live?**_

The room is simple, clean, empty. Just a made bed, a desk with a computer on it, and a chair.

Sakura sits on the foot of the bed. She thinks that maybe you can judge a little about a person by measuring the firmness of their bed. Sasuke's bed is lumpy and uncomfortable beneath her though, and she thinks that maybe you can't judge a person by something that they can't really have any sort of attachment to at all.

"You aren't connected to this place, are you?" she asks, poking at the threadbare carpet with her shoe, "You don't really live here, do you? It's just a place you come back to at the end of the day."

"Aa," he replies, leaving Sakura unsatisfied.

She chews her bottom lip before dropping backwards onto the bed, feeling the lumpy mattress beneath her spine. She stares at the ceiling, her eyes building images out of the raised texture.

"Isn't it weird? We don't know anything about each other. Like what each other's favorite colors are, or what we like to do," she tilts her head to look at him, "But we still know each other and we're still friends, right?"

Sasuke doesn't respond, but he drops backwards beside her, only more gingerly than she, and she thinks that maybe it has something to do with what he has hidden beneath those thick layers of clothing.

She whispers, "Will I ever get to see them? Your wings?"

He doesn't respond. He stares at her for several long moments before turning away, breaking any sort of hope she could have had for a reply, "We should go now; we'll be late for school."

"Yeah," she says quietly, nodding, and then repeats herself louder, "Yeah."

**-=Ino=-**

When Ino wakes up she is cold and tired and her eyes hurt so much that she just wants to claw them out so that she won't have to feel them anymore.

_Unbreakable, unbreakable, __**unbreakable**__,_ she tells herself over and over again as she wills herself to sit up. She suddenly lurches over the side of the bed and vomits into the small trashcan beside it, retching and gagging for several minutes, her greasy hair clinging to her face like a second skin. As soon as her body has stopped heaving she wipes her mouth on the sleeve of her pale violet night-shirt. She collapses back into the pillows behind her just as Sakura walks through her room, her dainty feet padding across the carpet. Their eyes meet, Sakura's calm and maybe (surprisingly) slightly challenging, and Ino's red and crusty and maybe (not-so-surprisingly) defeated. The pink-haired girl shuts the door to the bathroom behind her, and soon after, the shower begins to run. Ino blinks her puffy eyes a few times before huddling underneath the blankets, deciding that maybe she won't go to school today. _No point,_ she thinks. Going back to school pregnant with bleeding eyes and a bleeding heart seems inconceivable.

When Ino wakes up a second time, she feels even worse. But she slowly peels back her ocher sweat-dampened sheets from her pale skin anyway. She strips off her clothing completely and examines herself in the full-length mirror on her door. For once her face is completely void of leftover make-up.

_You are so ugly_, she thinks to herself, prodding at her swelling breasts, and at her not-yet-showing stomach, wondering how much time she has left before she's nothing but a distorted memory of her former-glamorous self. Her hair is a slick, lengthy mass that tumbles down her shoulders in sleep-creased waves. She tucks a strand of it behind her ear, as her mother (her first mother, her _real _mother­) had done, a silent tear trickling over her cheekbone. She shivers and rubs at her stinging face.

"Stop it!" she shouts at her hideous reflection, repulsed by the continuous flow of tears, "She never loved you!"

She kicks the mirrored-door and shrieks, dropping to the floor and holding her aching foot, screaming curses in a high-pitched voice. She curls into herself in the duck-and-cover position, sobbing uncontrollably, ignoring the wetness streaming from her eyes and nose.

"I hate you, I hate you, I fucking hate you!" she shouts at no one, the sound muffled by her knees.

After her breathing calms down a little bit, she turns her head, her tears smearing against the bare-skin of her knees. She looks at her _(terrible, horrible, hideous)_ face and laughs.

Ino stands up shakily and enters her bathroom, turning on the shower and scrubbing at herself, ignoring the immediate blast of ice-cold water until her teeth are chattering and her body is shivering. For a brief moment, she thinks of Sakura, and how she showers like this at every opportunity she is given. And thinking of Sakura, she thinks of school, and thinking of school makes her think of her beloved-

"Shikamaru," she whispers, the freezing water sputtering from her raw lips.

She doesn't even think about the boy who may be sitting at the picnic table at lunch, waiting for her.

_You can scream and you can writhe, but the truth will always remain the same…__you're full of nothing__._

**-=Hinata=-**

When Hinata first started at Konoha High school, she hated herself, considered herself a complete waste of space. She was awkward, confused, angry at the world, _(herself, herself, herself)_ and at the fact that the only man who was willing to talk to her only did so because of pedophilic tendencies. She loved everyone and everything but herself, wishing she had never been born to ruin the lives of her family and to lose the only thing she had ever been blessed with _(the bastard of a child who was killed by one of the people she loved most.)_

As far as she was concerned, she didn't exist _(because no matter how many times she went over to Kiba's house and ate lunch with him, he was just another kid who looked at her as something to be pitied)._ People didn't touch her, talk to her, look at her. She was something to not even be avoided; she was just something not to be noticed. And then she met _him._ He was so bright he practically glowed. He was different from the others. He didn't touch people, talk to people, look at people. But he looked at _her._

She remained insanely insecure, but their little group of friends grew over time. People loved her for _her._ She existed. She wasn't particularly confident or talkative, but she could love herself without fear.

And then **he** returned.

She didn't expect to ever see him again. With coke-bottle glasses and an all-knowing smile, he was a twisted man who touched forbidden fruits and picked them apart until there was nothing left.

And she had never been more terrified in her life.

So she goes to school each day, telling herself that today she will stand up, face her fears, bring a conclusion to the horror that has always lied restless beneath her skin, always to back out and skip her final class of the day.

And today as she walks toward the classroom her thoughts are nothing but disjointed words.

_You can…No don't…danger…no…Naruto will be there…but!...Kabuto…_

Hinata hyperventilates. Just as she is about to place her hand on the doorknob to the Biology classroom, a student exiting the room swings the door open, and it hits her in the cheek, sending her sprawling on the floor.

Immediately someone is there helping her pick up her books. She squeaks in embarrassment and begins to pick up the others. They both stand simultaneously and she looks up from beneath her overgrown bangs and lets out another undignified squeak. She bows her head, and lets out a shrill "Thank you."

Kabuto smiles at her, handing her the books he collected, "You are very welcome. That was rude of them to knock you down and not help you back up."

Her cheeks burn brightly and her head swims. She can hear her own pounding heartbeat and she wonders he can't hear it too. He begins to say something else, but she can't hear anything over the sound of her own sped-up breathing and heart, the feeling of something ripping away at her gut making her want to scream. She sways for a moment, and then she collapses.

"You bastard! What did you do to her?"

_Naruto…_

Hinata feels her inert self being raised into the arms of someone, and she hopes it isn't Kabuto. Another hand, one that's clammy and cold, touches her damp face.

"Don't you dare touch her," Naruto's voice growls.

Hinata's eyes barely flicker behind her eyelids before they slowly open half-way. She licks her lips, "It's alright Naruto," she breathes, "he didn't do anything to me."

Naruto is crouched down on one knee, her head propped up against the raised one, his arm holding her against him. He brushes her slick bangs away from her face, "Are you okay? Can you stand?"

Hinata is immediately startled by the burning concerned intensity in his eyes and it takes a moment for her to find her voice, and even then she fumbles with the words, "A-uh-um…I'm not…um…I'm not s-sure…"

"I'll get the nurse," Kabuto says smoothly, standing from his own kneeled position.

"Let's get out of here," Hinata whispers, trembling as Naruto drapes her arm over his shoulder, and she thinks she almost dies when he puts his own arm around her waist, her face flushing a deep crimson. She can't understand why, but her body is still in full-panic mode, random muscles tensing up and releasing, spasms flicking through her.

He leads her out of the building and into the courtyard, half-dragging her to a corner where two walls intersect, and she momentarily thinks that this can't be particularly good for her deteriorating shoes, but this thought is fleeting as he lowers her down to the earthy soil, and she instead thinks of how glad she is that it hasn't rained so it isn't muddy.

"Hinata, if he ever comes anywhere near you, you scream for me immediately. I will make sure that he never _ever_ touches you. Promise me you'll do that. Promise me you'll scream for me. And if I'm not there then scream for –I hate to say this—Kiba. And if neither of us are there, you just don't go to class," he says, brushing her bangs off of her lightly perspiring forehead again, and her blush stands out strongly against her pallid sickly features.

"I promise," she says, her voice finally coming back to her, her heart finally calming itself. Her body still doesn't stop its spasms, despite her attempts to still it.

"Are you cold?" he asks, his forehead tensing, "It's kinda warm for Februrary…"

"I'm…I'm okay, Naruto. Thank you."

He places the back of his hand against her forehead, checking for a temperature, crouched down in front of her. As her mind clears itself of the silver-haired man from her past and her mind fills of nothing but the magnificent boy in front of her, she becomes painfully aware of the body heat radiating from him and his wonderfully-smelling breath, different from its customary aroma of ramen. Her breathing and his own match in tempo, and she somehow knows like a sense she was born with that his heart is in time with hers, his thoughts in time with hers.

She is somehow completely unsurprised, completely free of fear, completely _wanting this_ as his lips mesh together with hers as though they were originally one. The kiss is soft and sweet and everything she would have ever dreamed of, full of admiration and concern and _lovelovelove_ and nothing like the pleasure-empty touches of—

As he pulls away, his eyelashes flutter against her rose-colored cheeks. She holds out her tiny slender hand for him and he takes it, sitting beside her, pulling her head to his shoulder where he lays his own atop hers.

"I won't ever leave you, Hinata."

**-=Sakura=-**

Sometimes

looking at Sasuke

I think about things that I

_**Forbidden.**_

probably shouldn't.

Like what it would feel like to have his hands touching me

a soft angel's caress

his fingers woven through my hair

brushing across my hollow stomach

my neck

_**You'll **__**never**__** get it.**_

_my thighs_

_**It aches, doesn't it?**_

and then suddenly he'll be looking back

and it's like a burning fire of need

smoldering deeply

within my gut.

Today his eyes are the color of

slick grey stones

like the ones that I used to find in the pond

_**Never coming back.**_

in the backyard of Ino's house.

But they look like maybe how the stones would feel if

I held them in my hands

and they absorbed all of the life from within me

so the pretty stones would pulse with warmth

and happiness

_**You don't have that kind of power.**_

and maybe potentially

love.

Sasuke continues to stare for a long long time

and then finally parts his lips to speak.

"My favorite color is blue."

I lick my lips and brush my

unusually smooth hair

_**You're just like a little girl playing dress-up. Let's pretend we're human. Let's pretend we're **__**normal.**_

behind my ears.

"My favorite color is red."

He gives me a rare smile.

It isn't very large

and it doesn't last very long, but

they seem to be increasing in number

and that fills me with more warmth than

any sort of festering burn in my gut possibly could.

"Goodnight, Sasuke," I say and

give him the largest smile I can

before I enter the house

_**A house of sobs and tears rather than moans and screams of ecstasy. Who would have thought you would ever miss the latter?**_

where I can hear father watching some sort of smut TV.

"Goodnight, Sakura."

I close the door.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the songs used.**_

_**A/N: Hello again, dears. Have you checked on the poll on my profile? If you haven't, please do. And if you wouldn't mind, tell me in your reviews who you voted for?**_

_**So I'm kind of THRILLED by the amount of reviews I have. I have never made it past 129 reviews for a story. And the 129 reviews was for a story I wrote almost three years ago. Do you know how old I was? Twelve. Twelve years old. Ha. 220 is too good to be true.**_

_**Ha. Ho. Hum. Sorry for the late update. I meant to have this out on Friday...but that didn't happen. I hope you schmancy Americans like myself had a fabulous Thanksgiving. And I hope you survived Black Friday as well. THE INSANITY!!!**_

_**Give a big round of applause to Ira Feye who beta'd this despite how busy she was!**_

_**Please review!**_

_**-MT**_


	15. Break Me

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Fifteen: Break Me**_

_I took you home_

_Set you on the glass_

_I pulled of your wings_

_Then I laughed_

_-"Change" by Deftones_

_

* * *

_

_Ring. Ring._

_**It's time to wake up.**_

_Ring. Ring._

Sakura wakes up, curled in the foetal position on her bed, surrounded by homework left incomplete. The clock on her wall says its only 7:13 PM, but somehow she still feels exhausted.

_Ring. Ring._

She suddenly realizes the phone is ringing, and throws herself from her bed and runs into the hall, wrenching the phone from its cradle.

"Hello," she asks in a dry, breathy voice, and rubs her eyes with the back of her free hand.

_"Sakura? ...Hi...it's...um...It's Hinata. I've been...um...saving up money and, um...I w-was wondering if you'd...go with me to a drive-in movie tomorrow?"_

"You want me to go to a movie with you? W-wow. That sounds amazing, Hinata. I'd love to."

_"O-oh. Really? Thank you...Good night, Sakura."_

"Good night, Hinata," Sakura says and hangs-up the phone.

**-=Ino=-**

Ino lies on her bedroom floor, staring at the ceiling-fan go round and round and round, eating chocolate pudding with her fingers. She thinks that maybe she can feel her skin melting off her bones and pooling on the floor as she listens to her sister make plans to do something on a Friday evening for quite possibly the first time in her life. And she thinks to herself that maybe she'll be doing the exact same thing she is tonight --feeling sorry for herself on her bedroom floor, gorging on food that she knows can't be good for her or the thing _(is it growing?)_ inside her.

To Ino, Sakura is like a bright pink rose, wilted at the tips of its pretty plush petals. Or a tainted lily, bruises sullying its frosty blossoms.

When someone picks a flower or buys one from the store, they cherish it and moon over it, put it in a glassy vase of nutrient water and watch it bloom. Once the flower has bloomed, it begins to wilt, and when those gorgeous petals begin to curl and brown, the admirer frowns and strokes its withering endowments with empathy and clicks his or her tongue, _"Aww, you poor thing. You need a little lovin', that's all."_

To Ino, Sakura is like a wilting flower that never seems to fully die. She just crinkles at the edges a little and sits there, taking up space on the table, not quite illuminating the room with a hearty glow the way a fresh, healthy plant would.

What if instead of feeding the flower adoration and care, it were neglected, left to wither and rot? Would it crumble to dust and fade away?

And then would she, herself, a wicked prickly plant, look gorgeous in comparison?

With no promising future in mind, she decides maybe to try it.

**-=Sakura=-**

Sakura sits in Biology, coloring on her fingernails with a blue permanent marker she found in the desk she sits in, thinking about Ino. She was surprised when Ino showed up to school. They passed each other in the hallways after first period, and Sakura smiled and waved. Ino just smirked and continued walking, shaking her silky bangs out of her eye.

Sakura wonders when the last time she and Ino even spoke was. She thinks maybe it was before their mother's death. She had just wanted to make Ino happy...

Gaara is absent. Sasuke sits in Gaara's place and Orochimaru-sensei doesn't seem to notice so Sakura pretends she doesn't either.

"In one month, we will be dissecting foetal pigs. So prepare yourselves. I won't allow anyone to drop out of this assignment, just because it's gross, girls."

_**And she was beautiful.**_

Sakura gasps and drops the marker, and it rolls to the floor. Sasuke looks up at her with an unreadable expression, and she just bites her lip.

**-=Ino=-**

For the first time in what feels like forever, but was probably no more than two or three weeks, Ino dolls herself up. She takes a shower, paints her fingernails, applies make-up, puts on some pumps, and grins. The acne that has come to spot her face in her unhygienic time is mostly covered by carefully-applied cover-up. Her ponytail may be a little bit less-smooth from too much grease build-up that she couldn't remove in just one shower, but she wears a cleavage-bearing tank-top and a mini-skirt and she looks like a model anyways, so she faces the school day with one idea in mind: to destroy Haruno Sakura.

As the day proceeds, her resolve only becomes stronger. While she gets looks of estrangement, Sakura gets looks of pity. People practically fawn over the pink-haired girl. Her sister even has a few kids Ino has never seen before stopping her to talk to her in the halls, while Ino travels alone.

The only person to give the blonde so much as a second look is the boy she (_loveslovesloves)_ wishes would disappear _(would never go away)_. They pass each other in the hallway, and their eyes connect --not once, but twice. He watches as she cradles her stomach each time she's shoved into a locker, and she watches each time he fumbles with the box of cigarettes in his pocket --an addiction he's only recently inhabited.

During lunch hour she goes in the restroom and cries for a little while, but then she reapplies her make-up and continues planning. So she sits in the stairway, eating some chips she bought from the vending machine with money she thinks she could have earned the same day she conceived, licking her nail-polished fingers clean of crumbs and artificial flavoring.

**-=Sakura=-**

I don't know when the last time was

that

I was this excited.

I haven't

been to a movie since

I was a little girl.

So I run to my locker

so that I can get everything done

quickly

not to waste a single second

of this

amazing

experience.

And there she is

in all of her blue-eyed

blonde-haired

tan-skinned

stick-thin

glory,

the girl who

hasn't spoken to me in weeks

the girl who

ignored me

and stopped caring.

"I think..."

don't say it don't say it

_don'tyoudaresayit_

"Well, I think that you've been spending too much time with Sasuke."

_**Who would have thought that Miss Unbreakable would have succumbed to jealousy of **__**you**__**?**_

It's not fair.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that you're dumping your one real friend for somebody else."

Angry words. Shouting. Faces red with anger.

And all of a sudden

"Ino!"

"Tenten! Is that you? It's been so long!"

She abruptly turns away from me

while I'm in the middle of a sentence

and she

hugs the brunette girl with buns

like they've been best friends their whole lives

ignoring me

and

they begin to giggle

and talk about the _good old days_

before

Tenten left the school

when we know

that she's only back

to see Neji.

And after a few seconds

I can't take it anymore

knowing that

in the middle of such

a 'vitally important' conversation

Ino didn't really care all that much

in the first place

_**She didn't need you in the first place. She's only here because of jealousy.**_

and I look at Ino and murmur, even though she doesn't hear me

"I'll see you around."

And I walk away

stifling back sniffs

and holding back the tears

though my eyes are already fogging over

because I don't want

Hinata to

see me this way

and

when I reach Hinata

she's speaking with Sasuke

while she waits.

"Sakura."

_He_ greets me.

But

I just want to get out of there

so

even though my eyes sting

and my nose is running

I manage to hold back the tears

"Um..."

Somehow

my voice cracks.

"Can we just go?" I ask

because

maybe

walking home

will give me a chance

to forget.

Sasuke seems to realize that I just brushed him off

but

I can't muster up the courage

to

speak.

**-=Hinata=-**

Hinata feels as though bubbles are being blown through her and they're tickling her insides and making her float higher than she has ever felt before. She's excited. Hopeful. She gets kisses from the boy she _(loves)_ likes every time he sees her. Not on the lips, but on her cheek, her forehead, her temple, her chin. And she can't help but _(love)_ adore him for it.

She's proud of herself. She's making her own money now. She's got her own job. She has hope that maybe she can be something. She's doing something for her own pleasure, with her own money, at her own expense instead of someone else's. And she's treating a friend to it too.

But as Hinata and Sakura walk back to Kurenai's home, Sakura walks a couple of yards behind Hinata, making her nervous. She has to look back every thirty seconds or so to make sure the girl is actually still with her, as the walk home isn't a short one.

_pop_

The bubbles festering inside of her begin to pop, the more tense she feels.

"Sakura...are you...are you alright?" she calls back to her friend, biting her lip nervously. She is generally not very good at this, making other people feel better without prying, and she usually needs to call for the help of someone else, but at the moment there is only herself and Sakura, so she has no choice.

Sakura looks up, her eyes a bit too wet and her expression a bit too stressed, but she gives Hinata a lopsided smile and says, "Yes, I'm fine. Thank you, though."

_pop_

Hinata turns around fully and walks toward her friend, "Y-you seem...a bit upset."

"I'm okay, really."

Hinata winces as the first tear trickles down her friend's cheek, but the pink-haired girl bows her head to let her recently-cut bangs fall over her face. Hinata walks towards her and envelopes the girl in a tight hug. The hug feels so odd, her being so much shorter than her friend, as she only comes up to the girl's chin. The crying girl is so thin, so breakable within her arms, though so much taller. Emaciated.

_pop_

Sakura silent tears turn into sobs, and her knees tremble before she falls, crying heavily into her uninjured hand.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry," Sakura whispers over and over again.

"Sakura!" Hinata's voice cracks. She's scared. What does she do? The only thing she knows how to do is hug, cuddle, make others feel her warmth. It takes her a few seconds before she realizes she's crying too, "Don't cry, Sakura!"

"It's my fault. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. It's _**my**_ fault. It's _**my **_fault that she's dead, isn't it? Had I just been a little bit better, a little bit stronger, I could have made everyone happier, and then Ino wouldn't have hated me, and I wouldn't have gotten momma angry, and then...I'm sorry! _I'm so sorry!_"

_pop pop pop pop pop_

Hinata looks around, eyes wide and frantic. She wants to get help but she's afraid to leave Sakura alone. She hastily unzips her hoodie and throws it over Sakura's shoulders, tugging it tightly around her, collapsing in front of the hysteric Sakura.

"N-nothing is your fault."

She puts her hands on Sakura's shoulders.

"_**Nothing**_ is your fault."

She wraps her arms around the girl.

_**"Nothing is your fault!"**_

Sakura nods into Hinata's shoulder, "Yeah. Yeah."

_...pop._

**-=Sakura=-**

And then I realized

that maybe

the only way I could possibly get Ino back

was to push everyone else away

but maybe only a little bit.

And

if I could manage to do that

and I could let Ino in

then maybe

pushing them away

would allow a halo of warmth

rather than a circle

with a piece missing

allowing the heat to escape

Tears are a funny thing.

**-=Ino=-**

After the day's accomplishment, Ino decides to reward herself by returning to the 7/11 to purchase another Very Cherry Slush. Yet again, Sai is at the counter with that same blatantly faked smile. Somehow she finds it comforting, the fact that someone in this world is more fake than she is.

"Hello, beautiful. Will this be all for you?" The smile is unwavering.

Ino nods. There is an exchange of bills and coins between them. During this, Ino vaguely remembers telling this strange boy to sit with her during lunch at one point, a week or two ago.

"Did you wait for me?"

Sai stares blankly at her, "I'm sorry, gorgeous. I don't understand."

"Did you wait for me. At lunch. When I asked you to sit with me?" Ino asks, slurping down her slushie rapidly, not even really noticing the brain freeze.

"Yes."

"Oh," Ino blinks, "_Oh._ Thank you."

"Have a nice day."

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any related thingamajigs. Or the songs. Those belong to their respective owners. This is a fan-made fic.**_

_**A/N: Sorry this took sooo freaking long, and sorry its so short. I've been kind of really wrapped up in life lately. I haven't given up on this story, though...so no worries! And alsdjfkj I didn't feel like writing the part where they went to the movie. I can't really remember what I had planned for it anyways. But it doesn't really matter 'cause it was going to be filler.**_

_**And for those of you who don't know already, I put up a new one-shot 'Dead Like Me'. I'm not particularly proud of it, but check it out? Pwease?**_

_**Please review you guys! I'd like to know if I still have any readers after the three month delay...(oops)**_

_**-MT**_


	16. Fester

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Sixteen: Fester **_

_I try to take a step but I cannot feel my feet  
and with your weight you suffocate  
I cannot help but breathe you in  
and with your size I'm paralyzed  
I find myself--find myself falling_

_- "Falling" by Michelle Featherstone_

Another month passes.

Sakura is happy. For the first time in a long time, it seems. It isn't a pure happiness; it has dark corners, where depression and pent-up aggravation is being pushed aside, along with the memories of her mother, her brief encounters with her father, her fallen sister's cries that echo through the house when the lights are out and her father is too dead-drunk to comprehend a thing. But there is light. A strong light that keeps her warm enough to feel.

She spends most days with Sasuke. Some days she goes to his little cookie-cutter house, sitting maybe a little too close to him, watching television they don't care for or maybe they reach around each other, planting things in Sasuke's revitalized garden (who would have thought the Uchiha had a green thumb?), occasionally brushing each other's arm or leg with their own.

Hinata is euphoric. Inconceivably happy. It's amazing. To not exist and then suddenly become somebody's everything. She is the shy, fidgety Hinata that never mattered to anyone while he is Naruto, the class clown somehow always surrounded by friends. And he cares.

But at the same time, there is still fear. Dreams and memories still remain. And long after Naruto and she have parted ways and she is stuck alone in that dark _**dark**_ apartment all alone with nothing but a jar of sand visible by moonlight to keep her company, she can do nothing but curl up as small as she can and just wait to disappear.

She sees less of Sakura now that the pink-haired girl has been tangled up in a web of longing, Hinata trapped in her own as well. Gaara has stopped coming to school as often, and when he does come, the circles beneath his eyes are dark and deep and she wants her circle of almost-fixed friends back.

Ino is scared. Terrified, broken, mangled, torn-up, _dead dead dead._ She's heading into her second trimester, and she knows that soon she's going to to have a little _(baby)_ bump, an unfamiliar mound where her perfect flat stomach should be.

The days when _(had she been more responsible, had __he__ not left her)_ she would have gone to school and been that perfect stick-thin, blonde-haired, _beautiful little thing_ and done her homework and gotten A's on tests and made somebody _(mommy, mommy, will you love me now?)_ proud, she instead skips, doing whatever she wants _(really doesn't want at all)_. She stands in front of the mirror of her bathroom, lifting her shirt to right beneath her swelling bosom, and stares at that pale still-smooth skin of her belly, as if demanding that _thing_ to just come out.

"Come out," she says, "I dare you. Grow, and come out. Right now. Just get the hell out of me."

She thinks that maybe, had this been Shikamaru's baby, she could have loved it. But as some illegitimate child with no father, as a product of her -she winces- _whoring around_, she can't love it, she refuses to love it.

She had wanted an abortion. She went to the clinic and was half-way filling out the forms. And then, just for a moment, she remembered that doll-faced little girl in a pretty little dress (_never never it, it wasn't her) _that just wanted to be **loved**, and then she couldn't do it anymore.

Maybe Ino can't love her baby. But she can have the child and give it away to someone who would. Because this little mistake deserves to be loved by somebody.

* * *

"I'm leaving," Sasuke says during English one morning. Instead of grey, slick stones, his eyes have a hot, burning burgundy undertone to them. And that's all Sakura can think of for the next several seconds before she finally comprehends. She feels an immense pain somewhere deep inside her chest. Not her heart, she thinks, but something inside her hurts.

_**Because heartache would be too cliche.**_

"What?" her voice comes out shrill and broken. She can't picture it now. Life without Sasuke. This life she's living now is so different from before she moved to this school that she can hardly remember what life was like. She tries to think back but just remembers emptiness.

"Not forever," he amends, "Just for two or three weeks."

The pain inside lessens, but the idea of being away from him for so long makes her nervous.

"Why?" she asks, her voice still a little bit too high, and she blushes, "I mean...if my asking doesn't bother you...?"

His eyes lose focus for a minute.

"Some doctors want to see me in another state. It's not anything important; they just need a volunteer for something and I happen to have some specific qualifications, and we could use the money."

_**Doctors that need boys with wings?**_

"Oh...when are you leaving?" she asks, rubbing the palms of her too-sweaty free-hand on her jeans. Her cast is hot and uncomfortable and even a little bit itchy and she wonders when she'll finally get it off. The heater in the school is turned up too high for March weather.

"Tomorrow morning," he gives her a one-shouldered shrug and brushes some hair out of his eyes with long fingers and Sakura finds herself wishing he'd do that to her. And maybe leave his hand lingering on her cheek a bit too long. Her bangs are long and always hanging in her eyes, as she hasn't gotten them cut since Sasuke took her what seems an infinite amount of time ago. Though she thinks its probably been less than two months.

_**He's growing inside you. Taking you over. Soon there will be nothing left of you. But is that such a bad thing?**_

She can't quite concentrate on what he's saying, and finds herself more paying attention to his body language and actions. How does he stand when he talks to her? What is the tone of his voice?

"Sakura."

"Oh. I'm sorry. What?" she can't help but mentally berate herself for not paying attention to the things that actually matter in conversation, that being the actual _conversation_.

_**He'll think you're a fool. You'll chase him away. And then you'll just be you again.**_

"The bell. You should probably get to Speech," he says, turning around and leaving as Hinata approaches her.

**-=Hinata=-**

To Hinata, Sakura is becoming a little more out of reach every day. Has been since the day she broke down before they went to the drive-in movie. The remainder of the evening had been uncomfortable, regardless of the attempts both girls had made at lifting the atmosphere. Kurenai's perceptive comments and the dramatic film had left Hinata and Sakura both incapable of forgetting what had happened, ending the night quickly as both girls went to sleep as soon as they got back to the house.

The only person she thinks Sakura has been incapable of letting go of is Sasuke, though she's unsure why. The attachment between the two seems to be more than just a girl having a crush on a guy and a guy not returning the attention with any sort of hint. It seems to run as deep as each person containing a secret, one the other has sworn to keep until they die. Their relationship feels to Hinata like that between best friends, a father and daughter, and a brother and sister but somehow also like maybe even lovers. But even then, she can see the way Sakura distances herself from him, even in the slightest way. She doesn't walk with him from class to class, no longer holds his gaze when he speaks to her, stops herself mid-sentence to change what she says, making it less of something she would say and more of something she should be _expected_ to say. Its kind of scary, Hinata thinks, what somebody else's words can do to a person.

"Um...so w-what were you and Sasuke discussing?" Hinata can't help but feel awkward, stumbling over intruding words. Sakura's and Sasuke's relationship belongs to them and no one else, and Hinata doubts she could even understand it, but yet she pries anyway, if not just for the sake of seeing whether or not Sakura could trust her with an answer anymore.

"Nothing really. We were just talking."

_Ah yes_, Hinata thinks, their circle is breaking. Instead of a circle of friendship, intertwined in every way, it's Hinata and Naruto, it's Sakura and Sasuke, and it's Gaara. And as it always has been, it's Hinata and Kiba and Shino who really have nothing if not a curious bond just left over from what must have been another life. But it all feels kind of empty now.

"I'm kind of w-worried about Ga-Gaara," Hinata squeaks, and clenches her hand in a fist and releases it repeatedly, frustrated at herself for not being able to say what she wants to say (_Why won't you talk to me? What's going on? We're all worried about you. Gaara --he hasn't been quite right since you started distancing yourself. Please just...just come back to us!)._

Sakura's breath catches and she starts to prod at her cast, scratching at the skin right beyond the opening.

"I...class is about to start."

* * *

Hinata doesn't see Sakura after Speech, not that she expects to. The girl is off doing other things with people that the girl can't let go of _(Sasuke, Sasuke, I know its you, why have you taken my Sakura away?)_, Hinata supposes. Naruto has tutoring after school and they're going to grab a bite to eat later, so Hinata just hangs out in the courtyard, doodling in her notebook at a picnic table.

After a couple of minutes, she feels that someone is staring at her, and she looks up to see Gaara sitting in front of a tree, head tilted forward, and slightly to the side, his sweat-dampened fire-red bangs sticking to his forehead, one arm angled against a bent knee. The position she often sees the druggies in front of the donut store by Kurenai's house adopting. He's looking at her with unfocused eyes, and she can't help but want to cry.

Hinata drops her notebook and ballpoint pen on the table, ignoring it when it rolls off and lands in the patch of dying grass between two pieces of bismirched concrete beneath her feet. She walks towards him, timidly, unsure of what to do when she hasn't seen him or spoken to him for two weeks. Their previous conversation hadn't been much beside her asking him if he was alright, and him shrugging, staring longingly at Sakura's back, and walking away.

So Hinata tries to think of what Sakura would do, and remembers the girl at the beginning, before anyone meant anything, just sitting with Hinata under a tree in rain-soaked grass, somehow both enjoying the company of a similiar stranger.

"Um...may I sit with you?" Hinata asks, trying her best not to let her voice waver. She knows her posture is nothing if not guarded, but she tries her best to be someone that Gaara can appreciate the company of, even if she isn't the spirited-away Sakura.

He gives her a half-nod after a few moments of bleary observation, and the small girl drops down beside him, pulling her knees to her chest.

"I miss her too, you know?" Hinata says, wringing her hands, "We can't give up though."

Hinata notices that there is a bruise over Gaara's forehead, where the hair is plastered, covering it up, and notices another on his collar bone, and thinks there are probably more under those too-heavy clothes he's wearing that cover his arms and legs. That feeling of wanting to cry doesn't go away, but she continues on, "I still keep that jar of...of sand. It's on my desk...I can see it in --in the moonlight. When I'm sleeping. And...when I'm looking at it...I'm thinking of you."

Gaara's head tilts slightly towards her, and his lips part, but not much more but a shallow breath comes out.

"What is...what is Sakura to you?" Hinata winces, not liking how invasive the question is, but feeling the need to pursue the answer.

"Is just like...my...mother..." Gaara breathes out, "So...pretty..."

**-=Sakura=-**

After school I

walk to Sasuke's house.

I wish I could just

leave him alone like I do

everyone else

but

it hurts

leaving them behind

and I need at least

one person

to hold on to

at least until

Ino comes back to me.

_**She's no good for you, and you know it. Yet you continue to go the extra mile for someone undeserving.**_

After tonight,

I tell myself,

after tonight I will leave Sasuke alone

as

he did to me

those few months ago.

_**"If you love someone, you have to let them go, and they will come back to you." Lies. Hold on. And don't ever let go.**_

But tonight I need to

let myself feel

just for a little while

because after this it's

going to hurt

and its going to hurt a lot.

_**Stop it! Stop doing this to yourself!**_

I step to his door and

ring the bell

hoping that it will be Sasuke who

answers and not

Itachi

and it seems that

today is my last

lucky day.

Sasuke opens the door in

a pair of cargo pants and

a green T-shirt, shrugging

on a jacket.

_**AngelAngelAngelAngel**_"

Oh, Sakura,

I was wondering if we'd

see each other again before I

left."

_**Angel!Angel!Angel!Angel!**_

I smile at him,

what I hope is a

comforting smile to both him and myself and

oh god oh god oh god

I just don't know if I can

do this.

I don't know if I can

let him go

after tonight.

_**Don't Go.**_

"It's nothing important,"

I say, biting my lip,

"I just wanted to

wish you a safe trip."

A soft smile tugs at the corners of his lips and he brushes

my hair away from my face just as I had

wanted this morning and

I want nothing more than to

feel his angel's wings and tell him

to take me with him

wherever he's going but

instead I just

smile.

"Well,

good night."

His hand leaves my face.

"Good night, Sakura."

_**Please Come Back.**_

**-=Hinata=-**

"Gaara, w-would you like to come to my house?"

She's to wait for Naruto, get a burger or something with him, but somehow this seems more important. She wants to make people feel better, wants to make medicines, cure people. Gaara first.

He stares at her curiously beneath matted, untrimmed hair nearly the color of wine before nodding twice and dropping his head to his knee.

"I'm glad."

She sits beside Gaara, her face tilted towards the sun, his embedded into his denim-covered leg until Naruto arrives.

"Hey. Finding you guys was hard. Are you --hey, what's up with Gaara?" He scratches the back of his neck and squints, as though the action will give him some sort of insight to the situation at hand.

"Um...I'm...I'm sorry Naruto, but I n-need to take care of Gaara. C-can we do this, um, another t-time?" She curses her inability to speak articulately in her mind and wrings her hands in apprehension.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Mind if I tag along, though? Kinda gets boring hanging around my place alone in the evenings."

Hinata smiles.

* * *

Hot fudge. Vanilla icecream. Cherries --fresh, not the candied ones (because fresh were cheaper, because the soupy red sauce the maraschinos came in made her think of blood, because Kurenai loves fresh fruit). Rainbow sprinkles.

"This is so wussy," Naruto says, digging his spoon into the melting brown-white swirl of dessert, scooping a large amount into his mouth, "Sundaes are for girls."

Hinata blushes and steals a glance at Gaara, who doesn't seem to have the same objections, but eats his icecream at a much slower pace. It's a sort of juxtaposition, seeing a guy so dirty, so dark in aura and disposition, eating an icecream sundae deluged in chocolate syrup. It makes her smile.

"Naruto," Hinata scolds, and licks melted cream off of her spoon.

She thinks that she might go broke if she doesn't slow down on her spending. But she finds it difficult to stop once she's started. The money gives her things to bring her friends closer together. Even if Sakura isn't here. She glances at Gaara once again, wonders if he's thinking about their pink-haired friend right now.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Kurenai's laughing voice trails in from the doorway, "A couple of no-good hooligans making a mess of my kitchen."

"S-Sorry. I'll clean it up. I promise," Hinata says, her cheeks burning as she jumps from her seat at the table to get a wrag to clean up the spilt chocolate, scattered sprinkles.

"Haha, don't worry about that right now. Mind if I join you? I've got a good hour before I have to be at the Bigger Burger."

"Come on, sit!" Naruto motions to an empty chair.

Kurenai only eats the cherries, twisting off their stems before popping them in her mouth. She spits the pits into a tissue everytime someone's not looking. Hinata wonders how she does it.

Everyone is finished eventually and Kurenai goes off to work, and then the time for fun is over. Naruto cleans up while Hinata uses a damp paper-towel to clean up some of Gaara's cuts. He sits still, sits silently, just watching Hinata's ministrations with slightly more-focused eyes.

"This won't help anything," he eventually murmurs, "There will be more. And when there are, you'll see that this is useless."

She tries not to pay attention to his words, though she processes the fact that he can speak more easily now.

"Gaara, w-what...what happened?" she asks, her voice quiet. Naruto is in the kitchen, they are in the bathroom, him sitting on the counter while she treats him. She doesn't know whether or not Gaara wants Naruto to hear them speaking, so she keeps her volume down.

"It's nothing."

"Did you...did you fight back?" she asks, pushing his hair out of his face to better view the bruise on his forehead. The skin isn't split, so she leaves it alone.

"No."

She steps back and looks at him, his shirt sleeves rolled to his elbows, his sweatshirt draped over the top of the door. She wonders whether or not he would protest if she requested to wash it.

"Why?" she whispers, looking straight in his eyes, though her face heats up fast and something in her mind tells her to look away, but she doesn't.

"For once...it didn't seem to be the right thing to do. Like maybe...its what separates me from him. He can hit me if it makes him feel better, and I'll take it. For now. But I won't raise a fist against him. I'll find another way."

She gives a small smile.

"D-Don't hesitate to find me if you need help. Okay? Naruto and I are --are here for you." _And Sakura. Or is she?_

"Yes. Yeah."

**-=Ino=-**

"Very Cherry. 32 oz. As usual," Ino sets the cup on the counter and forks over the cash.

"Anything else?" Sai asks, his never wavering smile continuing. It doesn't unnerve her, though she thinks it probably should. She finds comfort in his presence.

"Nope. Now give me my change."

He does.

"Have a nice day," he says.

"Hey. Sit with me at lunch tomorrow. I promise I'll show up this time."

She leaves the gas-station and throws the still-full slushie in the trash.

**End of Part II**

* * *

_**A/N: This story is moving a little bit more slowly than I intended. This chapter wasn't originally going to have anything to do with Gaara until I realized I missed him and decided to bring him back. So some of the things I told a few of you would be in this chapter aren't actually in it...oops. **_

_**I've been getting a few complaints over the lack of Sasu/Saku fluff, and all I have to say about that is that I work at my own pace. In my story 'A Blurred Silence' the romance (as well as the entire story) was very rushed, and I didn't like the outcome when I reread it all. I'm trying to correct that in this story And while I'm sure that some of you prefer to keep your fluff gauge completely full, I think the finished product will probably be worth it.**_

_**By the way, I have the next two chapters already written, so they should be up faster.**_

**_And give a big thanks to Ira Feye for beta-ing!_**

_**Reviews much appreciated!**_

_**-MT**_


	17. Sasuke's Interlude

**Part III**

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Seventeen: Sasuke's Interlude**_

_It doesn't pay to make predictions  
Sleeping on an unmade bed  
Finding out wherever there is comfort there is pain  
Only one step away  
Like four seasons in one day_

_- "Four Seasons in One Day" by New Buffalo_

* * *

_[You're an angel boy, Sasuke.]_

He was born with wings. Or something like them.

He had grown up a mystery, spending the first few years of his life periodically in science labs and hospitals for different tests. A boy with wings was the world's greatest enigma –something that should have been impossible.

He recieved attention. And plenty of it. But love was something he lacked from the day he was pushed from his mother's womb. He was nothing more than a science experiment, following his birth.

How does a boy with wings find love?

_**One.**_

Sasuke is five years old.

He doesn't get to go to kindergarten like the other kids in his neighborhood, and he can't go outside without his mommy or Itachi by his side. He's not allowed to go swimming or go to the hot springs even when the rest of the family goes. The neighborhood children stare at him when he leaves the house, his hand in mommy's, and they call him the devil's-child, but he just smiles at them until he gets home when he crawls into bed and cries.

His daddy doesn't love him, and he knows it. He hears daddy arguing with mommy sometimes about giving him to the scientists permanently. And when they start to yell, Itachi takes Sasuke into his room where he tells him stories about little boys with wings, and they always have happy endings.

And twice a week he'd spend the night with the doctors who would monitor his blood pressure and take finger-pricks and spinal fluid samples. And then he'd sleep in his little cot, curled in on himself, wondering why he should be punished for being born the way he was.

"You're an angel boy, Sasuke," his mother would coo at him, smoothing back his untamable hair, "You are my beautiful little angel."

_**Two.**_

Sasuke is six.

He gets to go to school now, but his mommy winds gauze around his torso and makes him wear baggy shirts and thick sweatshirts to conceal his wings.

"It's because I want to keep you all to myself, silly. And maybe other people won't understand you the way I do," she says, thinking of her life and how everyone she knows is fading from it all because of this little boy she couldn't give birth to correctly.

Sasuke meets a boy named Naruto who has whisker-like scars that are _darkdarkdark_ and he tells Sasuke that he is an orphan.

Sasuke and Naruto become best friends. Sasuke protects the boy from the other kids who throw rocks at him and call him a fox-demon, because he knows what it's like to be called a demon, himself. And when Naruto sees his wings, he just says, "Cool."

But when Sasuke goes home every day, daddy gives him disapproving looks, and mommy checks to make sure the gauze is still intact. And each week he goes back to the doctors who perform their painful tests on him that make him want to die.

_**Three.**_

Sasuke is eight years old.

Daddy pushes Itachi too hard and the boy falls into an angry depression. He spends most of his days with Sasuke, teaching him about their business. Because Sasuke wants Uchiha Fugaku's love and Itachi doesn't.

Sasuke's mommy strokes his hair and gives him encouragement, but the words _wings_ and _angels_ are completely banned from her presence.

And Sasuke wonders if maybe it wasn't that she wanted to keep him all to herself, but that she was ashamed of giving birth to a child with wings. And he wishes, not for the first time, that they'd go away so that maybe his mommy and daddy would love him.

_**Four.**_

Sasuke is nine.

Daddy finally looks at him like a person, now that the words _wings_ and _angels_ haven't been mentioned in years, and the neighbors have forgotten, and there's no visible proof left that his child had been born with hideous irremovable deformities, and he thinks that maybe this child has some potential. So even though the boy still goes to the doctor twice a week, daddy spends three days a week tutoring him, because maybe now that Itachi is hopelessly involved in the world of cigarettes and playing-hookie, he needs a different heir.

Later on in the year, the Uchiha Co. fails, and the family loses everything. And one day while Sasuke is at the doctor's, he hears news that mommy and daddy have both been killed, both stabbed to death.

And so he and Itachi learn to live alone together. And he no longer goes to doctor appointments, and is no longer required to bind his wings, so he walks around the house enjoying the way it feels to let them expand to their full-length, though he's afraid of losing the love of anyone else, and he still binds them when he goes to school. And sometimes he still crawls into bed and cries in their little shit-hole of an apartment, but Naruto comes over and tells him stories of boys with wings while Itachi smokes and watches MTV, and the stories never ever have endings.

_**Five.**_

Sasuke is eleven.

He lives in a world of hellish-lives and war and sin, and when he goes to school there are children younger than he is making out against lockers or taking a drag from a cigarette. He spends most days at Naruto's house, because now Itachi's gang-friends come over and deal out different drugs, and sometimes when they're all high, they ask Sasuke to show them his wings and they laugh and spit at him, and he sometimes wonders whatever happened to the caring big brother he used to have.

And he begins to believe that maybe the neighborhood children had been right. Maybe he was a demon, not an angel, if everyone whose life he touched collapsed around them.

_**Six.**_

Sasuke is fourteen years old. Itachi has cleaned up for the most part and finally decided to get a job, though he continues to smoke. They move into a small, cookie-cutter home, identical to every other one on the block, if not just a little bit more damaged. He picks up his little brother from school each day instead of making the boy walk for an hour as he had before, and every day when they walk through the front door he ruffles Sasuke's hair with his fingers, as if it were enough of an apology.

And Sasuke's given up on hope of finding someone who could prove to him that maybe he wasn't a demon instead of an angel boy, though he tries to make up for the sin of his existence in every way possible.

* * *

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, 'Four Seasons in One Day' or anything related. Fan-made fic, guys._**

**_A/N: I'm cringing right now. I figure you guys will either love this or hate this. I'm guessing most people's response to this will be sputtering in confusion. Hoho. Um. I'm hoping that those of you who do hate this will at least give it a chance to keep going and explain some stuff in upcoming chapters... ;D Well, it would appear that my number of readers has signifigantly dropped. I've gone from getting around 24 reviews per chapter to around 7 or 8. But hopefully with a chapter like this, you guys will make your opinions known._**

**_Please review, dearies!_**

**_And thanks to Ira Feye for beta-ing!_**

**_-MT_**


	18. Somebody

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Eighteen: Somebody**_

_Hate, feed the hate  
Feed the hate of the country you love  
And beg, you will beg  
You will beg for the lives and their souls  
And burn, you will burn  
You will burn in hell  
Yeah you'll burn in hell_

_- "Take a Bow" by Muse_

_

* * *

_  
It's Wednesday. Six days since Sasuke left for his trip with Itachi. Sakura spends her days mostly alone, walking with Hinata from English to Speech every other day, and sitting next to Gaara in Biology in those days in between, passing Naruto in the hallway and catching fleeting glimpses of Ino disappearing in the mornings, but not really speaking to any of them.

To Sakura, its almost enough, just seeing that Hinata is nearly beaming with the happiness of knowing that she and Naruto are an item.

_**Almost**__** enough knowing that Hinata has found love and you have not, knowing that you can't ever be like her, can't ever be **__**with**__** her again. **_

Just seeing that Gaara is safe, back at school, relatively unharmed.

_**Almost**__** enough, knowing that Gaara is suffering the same thing you once did, the beatings of someone he loves. **_

Just seeing that Naruto stands strong, capable of keeping Hinata protected.

_**Almost**__** enough, knowing that he lives all alone, knowing that every moment he's not with Hinata, he's all by himself.**_

Just seeing that Ino doesn't need Shikamaru.

_**Almost**__** enough, knowing she doesn't need **__**you**__** either.**_

Almost enough.

_**Can't ever go back.**_

Sakura knows its selfish, in a way, to want more. To want to feel Hinata's happiness seeping into her, to want to protect Gaara, to want to joke with Naruto, to want to feel Ino's acceptance.

To want to feel _his_ arms wrapped so tightly around her.

_**Even if it suffocates you.**_

It's grating against her. She feel so lost, so empty. She's pushing everyone away, but she expected to be able to keep everyone at arms-length, to keep them within reach. She didn't expect them to keep moving, to drift away like a ship without an anchor. And Ino's still as unreachable as ever.

Even wanting to speak to her friends, at this point, she doesn't think she can. They don't spare glances in her direction anymore. As if she's already lost, irreversibly. There's nothing to say anymore; she's given up that right.

_**Hurts, doesn't it?**_

Sakura heads to Biology, looking forward to nothing but maybe checking that Gaara is still arriving to school regularly. She quietly shuffles to her desk and drops her bookbag on the floor, sliding into her seat.

"**DISSECTION OF FOETAL PIGS **_**FRIDAY!**_"

The message is written on the chalkboard in dusty pink. It makes Sakura sick, just seeing the words. Her hands get clammy, her entire body seems to begin to sweat, her head spinning. Her tongue feels like cotton in her mouth. She can only hear the sound of her own breathing. She has to lay her head down on her desk just to make the room stop tilting.

She feels that familiar sensation of her nose and eyes stinging, and can feel the tears pricking at her eyelids. She bites her too-thick tongue to keep from crying.

Class goes by too quickly. Everyone files out of the room, leaving only her and Orochimaru-sensei behind. She doesn't know where Kabuto is. She just vaguely remembers there being an announcement of his birthday coming Friday as well.

She stumbles up to Orochimaru-sensei's desk, her hollow breaths ringing in her ears, the panic setting in.

She chickens-out. Leaves the room under the watchful eye of her biology teacher.

* * *

Home is empty. Sakura doesn't know where her father is; she figures he's out somewhere getting drunk. She figures Ino is probably at that same gas-station, talking to Sai as he told her she always does once in art class.

Sakura walks tepidly into her parents room. The bed smells faintly of whisky and sweat, but she presses her face into her mother's old pillow. There's no scent of her left. Just that same musky smell of alcohol and body odor. The tears she held back before nearly make it to the surface, but she pushes them back down.

_**Not now. Not today. Save them for another time.**_

She rolls out of the bed and lands unsteadily on the floor. She wants to scream. She sucks in the breath to do so until she hears the sound of padding feet and Ino walks past the door, their eyes locking for a moment before the pallid girl shuffles of into the direction of her bedroom.

Sakura releases the breath silently.

_**Don't let her see how weak you've become.**_

* * *

Thursday.

Hinata doesn't walk with her from English to Speech. The girl is already sitting at her desk when Sakura runs in, two seconds before the bell.

After class, Karin approaches Sakura for the first time in months, a sneer marring her perfect features.

"What did you do to him, bitch? What happened to my Sasuke?"

Sakura stares at the girl, bewildered, saying nothing. This angers Karin further, and she slaps Sakura across the face, "Speak, bitch!"

Sakura's brain jars in her skull from the force of Karin's hit, surprised by the pain that had been slowly becoming foreign since the car crash. She raises her own hand and slaps Karin, herself, before walking away, leaving the red-headed girl speechless in the middle of the hallway.

_**This isn't you.**_

* * *

Friday comes

too soon.

I feel that heavy stone of pure

dread

in my gut from the moment that I

wake up.

The biology classroom reeks of

formaldehyde.

I sit in my chair

hyperventilating.

Gaara

isn't

here.

_**A smarter one than you.**_

Kabuto passes out large

rectangular

pie trays.

_**The deathbed.**_

Orochimaru-sensei goes around

dropping the plastic sacks

in the pie trays,

baby pigs inside,

slitting the material open with a

razor blade.

The pungent odor is

stupefying.

Girls squeal

and guys

laugh out loud.

Eventually

Orochimaru-sensei gets to me

and my chest feels tight

and I can't seem to

suck in enough oxygen.

He slits open the sack.

And all of a sudden I'm crying.

Crying in front of the teacher

_**Why are you crying?**_

over something that everyone else can do

without a problem. But

_**You're weak.**_

I can't stop thinking about how

proud a mother I could be and

the words, _And she was beautiful._ repeat in my head

over

and over

and over

_**Why won't it stop?**_

and I can't shake the idea of

someone taking my baby

and

cutting her open, and giggling and "ew"ing over his/her innards flowing over their fingertips.

And I can't help but wonder how family could

mean so much to a person who

doesn't have one.

Because

even though they're mostly still here

it sorta feels like they're dead.

_**Like mindless dolls**_

Because

I didn't know why

Ino doesn't smile at me anymore

_**Why doesn't she smile back?**_

or why

she wears so much make-up and perfume

_**She didn't used to care what boys think**_

that

it makes me cough when she bumps shoulders with me

when I enter a room

and she immediately leaves it.

And I can't remember

when mother and father stopped kissing

and started shouting instead

_**The screaming still rings in your ears, doesn't it?**_

And at some point

I stopped caring. Maybe

when mother died

and father

didn't even

care

to take care of us

anymore.

_**Why should **__**you**__**? They never even looked at you.**_

And maybe now and then

I'll catch him

laughing

laughing so hard

over something that had belonged to her, clutching it

to his over-weight stomach

that's full of the beer

he's been guzzling down

_**That's why no one outside of the family ever enters anymore.**_

can after can

day

after

**day.**

And it makes me want to scream.

And bury myself

**alive**

_**Without a coffin**_

just so that I could feel the earth

surrounding me

hugging me

loving

**me.**

and then at least

I'd be a part of something

something big.

so big

I wouldn't be ignored

**couldn't** just

be ignored.

_**Because being inconspicuous is impossible when you've painted a bright red target on your back.**_

Because "the earth determines the book"

applied to all people's stories.

And maybe I just needed to be

_lovedlovedlovedlovedloved_

a little bit

by

**SOMEBODY.**

_**...Anybody? Please help me...**_

**-=Ino=-**

_[my baby]_

Ino skips Biology.

She spends the class period in the girl's restroom with black and red permanent markers. She was never an artist, and she thinks that maybe Sakura or Sai would be better candidates for something like this, but she doesn't think Sakura could understand and she sure as hell knows that Sai never could.

So she draws. And writes. And laughs.

Pictures of unborn babies, lying in puddles of their own amniotic fluids, dead pigs, blood, and the word _**'MURDERER' **_written over and over and over again.

She pulls morbid photographs of aborted infants printed off the internet from her backpack, and as she posts them on the mirror and stall doors and throws the rest on the floor to scatter. This feels vaguely reminiscent of when the jealousy first seeped in and she stuck those flyers of her party _[Sakura, I'm sorry, but you could never understand]_ all across the school and fed off of her sister's mistreatment.

She places a somehow protective hand over her belly and sneers at herself in the mirror.

"Disgusting."

**-=Hinata=-**

It's at lunch when Hinata hears that Haruno Sakura had an episode during Biology, and then passed out.

Gaara arrives at the school half-way through lunch, and sits across from Naruto and her with a curious expression when he sees their worry.

"What's happened?"

"It's...It's Sakura," Hinata says, biting her lower lip and looking down at the picnic table.

"I don't really know the details, but it's been going around that she burst into tears in Biology class before fainting. They were dissecting the pigs today," he glances at Hinata, "So I'm guessing that may be a part of it."

Hinata can feel it when Gaara's mood abruptly changes. There's not much difference in his blank expression, but all of a sudden the air around him is thick and smothering. His eyes are dark and blazing and she can't help but feel afraid. Naruto takes her hand and squeezes it, sending a shiver up her spine and her blood rushing to her face.

"Where is she now?" Gaara's tone is deep and dark. Threatening, almost.

"Uh --the nurse's office, I think," Naruto says, obviously startled by Gaara's intensity, "But they're not letting anyone out of the courtyard until lunch is over."

Gaara grunts in response.

When the bell rings, the three go together to check on Sakura.

The nurse is a tall woman with hair in a dark bob with dark eyes to match. Her office is decorated with pigs. Her nametag says _Shizune._

"What's the problem?" she asks, looking over the three, as if trying to comb out the sick one.

"We're here to see Sakura!" Naruto shouts a little too loudly, and Hinata bites her lip and fumbles with the hem of her skirt.

"I'm sorry, but only one person at a time. So two of you have to go to class and come back later. She ended up spilling formaldehyde all over herself when she fainted. Poor thing knocked over her pig and had the stuff spill all over her. So she'll need some help changing, thanks to her cast," she points to Hinata, "So I suppose you should go in first and help her out."

Hinata can feel Gaara seething and she worries about what he might do before he abruptly becomes calm and still. He turns and stares into Hinata's eyes, "Take care of her."

He and Naruto exit, leaving Hinata more nervous than before. She goes behind Shizune's desk and through the door leading to a small room where a girl lays on a cot. Sakura.

The girl looks awful. The make-up she doesn't remember Sakura wearing long before she started drifting is smeared down her pallid cheeks, her eyes red and swollen, making the vibrant green of her irises even more outstanding in a pitiful sort of way.

For some reason, Hinata feels an unfamiliar sort of rage bubbling in her chest.

"Are you happy now?" the Hyuuga asks, surprised when tears start to pool on her lower eyelid.

Sakura opens her mouth and lets out a dry breath. She slowly sits up, her greasy hair limply unsticking from the side of her face where it was pressed against the pillow. The thick aroma of formaldehyde hits Hinata's nose and makes her cough a little.

"Happy?" Sakura asks with a hoarse voice. Her expression is hollow. Empty. Her body is too thin.

_Too thin too thin too thin too __**sick**_

"What have you been trying to accomplish b-by blowing us all off?" Hinata trips over her words, the anger dissipating a little, but she holds on to it, "Gaara's father has been _hitting him_. And w-where have you been? Off with Sasuke?"

Sakura's eyes go out of focus for a minute and she looks down at her chemical-stained jeans and for a minute she resembles the broken girl she was when they first met. (_brokenbrokenbroken)_ And it hits Hinata that maybe now is not the time for yelling, for drilling into the girl's head how stupid she's been. Now is the time for consoling, for comforting, and the lecturing can always come later, when the girl doesn't look so defeated.

"Yes."

The reply is so simple and answers the question, yet somehow it seems completely irrelevant but so _so_ heartfelt. As if her entire apology and explanation and all of her tears have gone into the effort of saying that one word.

"Oh, Sakura!"

Hinata hugs the girl tightly, but loosens a bit when she feels the girl's bony arms beneath her and she's worried that if she hugs too tightly the girl might snap. She strokes the girl's hair, untangling it with her fingers as she goes, and she somehow feels fuller when Sakura finally returns the embrace.

Sometime later, after Sakura has changed clothes, the two are lying down in the cot together, Sakura's arm wrapped over Hinata's stomach, "How are you going to do it?"

"Do what?" Hinata's asks, curling into herself.

"_Dissect._"

Hinata tightens all of the muscles in her abdomen, and she's sure Sakura can feel the difference.

"Sometimes it pays off to have a g-guardian working in the school's system," she says it with a humorless smile that could burn like venom, and she's glad that Sakura cannot see it, "Kurenai got me out of it."

"I'm glad for you," Sakura says, her voice a breathy whisper, and her pale fingers (_nothing but bones)_ twitch.

"But that isn't really what this is all about, is it?"

Sakura doesn't answer.

"Sakura," Hinata brushes her hand over the girl's and angles her head back to see her, "You need to eat more."

Sakura offers a bitter smile of her own, "I'm trying. I'm just not ever hungry anymore. And when I am, I get full so quickly..."

"You're so thin. You could probably blow away."

Sakura's smile disappears, and she closes her eyes and rests her head deeper into the thin, cotton pillow, "That doesn't sound so bad."

**-=Sasuke=-**

He lied when he said he needed the money.

Inheritence is a funny thing. When the Uchiha's parents died, Sasuke and Itachi recieved their entire fortune, having done nothing to earn it _(unless years of tears and agony and disrespect can be recompensed with money). _They stored it away in a bank account, rarely accessed, hoped to be forgotten about _(because no one wants to remember riches recieved by the death of those beloved who maybe weren't so beloved after all)._

He isn't sure what made him accept this offer in particular, to have his _mutation_ examined, prodded, sampled. All he knows is that maybe he wants them gone. He wants his wings to disappear. He wants to live normally. He wants to _love_ normally.

_["Will you fly me away from here?"]_

Sakura. She thinks she wants to see them. But she's wrong. Naruto is the only person to ever accept them, and that's just because the boy was a little too innocent when they met. Sasuke can never have a normal relationship for as long as these deformities plague him. If Sakura were to see them, understand them for what they are, she would surely turn away.

_["Will I ever get to see them?"]_

_(You don't want to see them.)_

He hopes that maybe the doctors can tell him whether or not it is possible to get them surgically removed.

_["Someday you'll unfurl your wings and fly again, and maybe I'll get to watch, but maybe I won't, because maybe you'll disappear, because angels don't stick around forever."]_

_(Maybe. If you weren't mistaken. If I could fly. If I were an...an angel.)_

But then, would he be nothing more than a boy to her?

_["You don't have to protect me. I just like being friends."]_

* * *

The table is hard and cold against his bare chest. His arms and legs are strapped down to keep him still. He wears nothing but a pair of mint-green cotton pants. With his face pressed against the table, he can see nothing, but he can smell the cleaning alcohol used on the examination table he lays on, and he can hear appreciative murmurs, the clanging of metallic instruments on a steel tray.

Someone is pulling on his wings, stretching them as far as they can go. He speeds up the process by unfurling them himself. They're small things. His full wingspan doesn't even reach his elbows. Whoever is examining him is startled by the movement and gasps. Whether its in delight or in horror, he isn't sure. He knows what his wings look like. White, feathery, dappled in brown. The feathers generally limp and unattractive, as they're usually crammed tightly against his back beneath heavy layers of clothing.

Another person --this time female, strokes the feathers with dainty fingers. She pauses and removes her hand from him, and then he can hear the sound of pen scribbling on paper.

A needle in his back as they take a spinal fluid sample. He clenches his teeth from the pain.

"Funny, how in long ago times, had someone with your mutation been born, you would have been worshipped as an angel of sorts," says one of the scientists with a snort as she places the cold face of a stethoscope beneath his shoulder blade.

_["You're the epitome of an angel."]_

Sasuke just lets out a grunt in response.

These people don't see him as human. He's just a guinea pig that speaks their language.

* * *

"There's no way to remove them without paralyzing you for life," says the doctor, crossing her legs and showing off quite a bit of thigh. She knocks a folder off her small, make-shift table, and she bends over to pick it up, exposing a large amount of cleavage.

Sasuke finds it difficult to take this woman seriously.

"Is there anyone else I could talk to in your facility? Some other doctor?" he deadpans.

She gives him a well-practiced look of sympathy, "I'm sorry, but any other doctor would tell you the exact same thing. Those...wings...they're integrated into your spine, the nerves and muscle tissue twisted around your vertebrae impressively. But it doesn't appear as though they'll grow anymore. They should stay that size."

"Could you just remove the outside? No need to do any of the inner work," he presses.

"I suppose we could...there's no guarantee that they wouldn't grow back at least a little. And it would leave horrible scarring. And if they did grow back, it wouldn't be the full wings, but small, raised nubs."

"What if I was willing to take that chance?" he counters, just imagining what it would be like, not possessing these useless endowments, "I don't care about scarring."

She pinches her lips tightly together over her teeth, "Possibly. We would need to perform further testing and we'd need the consent of a guardian, not to mention sufficient funding. And you should probably think this over a little more. We're going to be closed for the next week for some reconstruction of a room that suffered heavy water damage, so please return after that amount of time with your decision."

_["I just wanted to see you fly."]_

* * *

Sasuke returns to the motel room to find Itachi gone. He isn't surprised.

Sasuke sits on the edge of a bed covered with moth-eaten blankets, stained with spilled beverages and what was left behind from couples who made love, and he imagines himself as one of these people, wonders what it would feel like to be with another person in that sense, wonders at that feeling of completeness. He imagines himself with a faceless person, loving her, making _her_ complete, and he wonders at what it would feel like knowing that he, the demon-angel-mutant-deformed child made someone else feel full and alive.

That faceless person turns into Sakura, and he can feel her running her hands down his back until they brush his scarred nubs of once-were wings. And then she screams.

He jolts when he realizes the screams are just Itachi opening the door, it easing open with a harsh screech. His brother is wincing, "You sure can pick motels, little brother."

Itachi tosses him a can of soda, chugging a can of beer, himself. He locks the door and turns on the television and to a program on Animal Planet. Sasuke watches as Itachi tosses the beer can somewhere into the small kitchenette area, and then sheds his pants and shirt and pats into the bathroom.

Sasuke kicks off his shoes and pulls off his shirt and then falls back on the bed. He falls asleep with the light on to the sound of a running shower and 'mothers of the sea,' still replaying the image in his head of Sakura screaming.

_[Would you fly me away from here? Would you?_

_...Would you?]_

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or "Take a Bow" by Muse.**_

_**A/N: There you have it. This is the first chapter of Somebody I ever wrote, back in March 2008. Why, you may ask, did it take me so long to upload it, then? Well, you see, I have a very amazing beta who I've been waiting to hear from, but I haven't heard a word from her in a month, so I decided that maybe then it was passable to update without getting a response. But if anyone sees any spelling mistakes or anything I should adjust, please tell me in a review or a pm!**_

_**Sorry if the first part of the chapter is a little repetitive. I don't really like it, but I figure I'll just have to deal. And so that no one has to ask, the parts in italics in brackets with quotation marks is Sasuke remembering things Sakura has said, while the underlined italicized paranthesis are Sasuke's silent responses to those memories. The last part has no quotation marks, meaning that Sasuke is **__**imagining**__** Sakura saying these things. :)**_

_**I'd like to begin updating every week. If not that, then every other week. I'm hoping to have this story finished before May 21st though, because I will be going to California to start the summer, and I will have no internet access.**_

_**Thank you for being patient! Please review (and thank you for all of your fabulous reviews last time)!**_

_**-MT**_


	19. Falling

_**Somebody  
**__**By. Misery's-Toll  
**__**Chapter Nineteen: Falling**_

_Their tears are filling up their glasses  
__No expression, no expression  
__Hide my head, I want to drown my sorrow  
__No tomorrow, No tomorrow  
__And I find it kind of funny  
__I find it kind of sad  
__The dreams in which I'm dying are the best I've ever had_

_- "Mad World" (Gary Jules version)_

* * *

Sakura thinks that maybe she could wake up a million times, and it would still be 3:14 am.

_**What would humanity give, do you think, to be able to prolong a moment in time? And you throw it away like something despicable.**_

She's alone. Her father and Ino aren't home, but Sakura finds that she doesn't really care much.

_**That's the spirit. They're all going to burn someday.**_

She turns over, roughly, letting out a huff of breath in frustration. She shoves her hand under the pillow, engulfing it in fluffy softness. She forms a fist and pulls it back out.

"Oh," she whispers, "The scarf."

Looking at it now seems odd. Like that was a different lifetime ago. How long has it been, she wonders? November. December. January. February. It's March now, isn't it?

Kakashi. He was so nice to have given this to her. And she never wore it.

_**You thought maybe he could have been an angel once, didn't you?**_

Sakura sits up, waiting out her sudden state of vertigo before throwing the scarf around her neck and over her shoulder. Still in the dark, she goes into the closet and fishes through it for a pair of her mother's old pumps.

_**They can't find you here. In the dark. The monsters in the closet are only there in shadows that don't exist in pure darkness.**_

Sakura opens the blinds, allowing the light from the streetlamp outside to filter in.

_**Now you're exposed. Do you think you'll succumb now? Will they take you now, or have they taken you already?**_

She giggles as she sets her scented candles aflame. They're dusty and they smell of it for the first few moments after being lit, but with the eerie shades they cast across Sakura's face in the mirror, she has to laugh. A girl in teeny shorts, a baggy t-shirt, pumps, and a silk speckled scarf laughs back at her, her skin splotched with dancing candlelight. She looks like something from a book, she thinks. Like the sort of creature a demon would love.

* * *

Sakura wakes up again. The analog clock says its somewhere around 4:30. She's sprawled across the sofa _(the one her parents, the one her __sister__ had already claimed by committing certain irreversible acts upon it)_, the candles all around the room having long burned low. She feels queasy.

She doesn't remember getting up, but she remembers falling down, remembers vomiting all over the kitchen floor. She remembers hearing the door slam shut as her father stumbled in half-drunk, laughing a deep, throaty chuckle with a woman probably half his age draped over his arm.

Sakura scrambles to her feet, feeling instantly better, though shivery and sweaty.

"Eww! What the hell is this?" the woman screeches, pointing to Sakura.

The woman is too beautiful, Sakura thinks. She looks like something out of a fairy-tale, only maybe with cheap make-up and barely-there clothes.

_**Maybe she's playing dress-up, just like you.**_

No wonder Sakura's father betrayed their mother, she thinks, this woman is just too beautiful.

"She's nothin'. Just another pile of shit on the road," Sakura's father laughs, taking a swig of his beer, "Sakura here'll clean up and then skedaddle on outta here, won't she?"

_**Someday, he's going to wake up, and he's going to remember who you are.**_

Sakura nods, though she's aware of and slightly confused by the tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Aww, look! You got her cryin'!" the woman laughs, her voice loud like a car-horn, "Go on! You heard him! Clean up your mess!"

Sakura stares at the drunken couple for a moment.

"No."

She leaves the house, letting the door swing shut behind her.

**-=Sasuke=-**

Sasuke dreams of abstract demons and tiny infants and floating heads and endless rows of people without faces, clawing at their featureless heads until their blood pools into their hands. Sakura stands in the middle, her smile bright and welcoming. A tiny infant with a mirror of crystalline glass giggles soundlessly as it shows Sakura her reflection, just in time to watch her eyes disappear. And then she's blind. And all Sakura can feel is the never-resting reverberations of the silent laughter of children and demons, and the floating heads are gnawing at her arms and legs until she can no longer stand. She begins to claw at her own non-existent face with stubby hands until her fingernails make their way through rubbery-skin, and eventually she draws blood, and draws in a new face with red-smeared life-paint, with that same bright smile. Tears of blood trickle down her cheeks from beneath drawn-on eyelids.

And then Sasuke is there, wiping away her tears and drinking the blood from her lips with a gentle kiss. And when he pulls away his eyes and lips are a deep, dark red. As gentle waves begin to lap at his consciousness, his wings begin to dissolve, and Sakura's life flows back into her, and she whispers, _"Sasuke."_

And then he is awake.

Itachi is gone again. The light is off and the television is still on, on the same channel as the night before, showing some sort of commercial. The room smells like old fast food, and a bag of left-over french fries sits sideways on the table next to the remote. There's a note written on a napkin that says, '_Out to buy cigs,_' in Itachi's smooth scripture handwriting.

Sasuke stretches his wings and his arms to let out the kinks in his back as he pads over to the small bathroom. He looks in the mirror at his sallow complexion and grease-slicked hair, tracing the circles beneath his eyes with his little finger.

In the shower, Sasuke watches the water splash as it hits the tile on the floor, though the water is dripping from his hair into his eyes and blurring his vision. He thinks about his dream. About Sakura. About his wings. About his wings turning into nubs and about Sakura touching the nubs and about Sakura screaming. And then about Sakura in his dream, clawing at her face until there's nothing left.

_["Does it hurt?"]_

And then he thinks about kissing Sakura in his dream, his wings dissolving, and restoring her life to her.

He turns off the shower. His cell phone is ringing in the bedroom. He wraps a towel around his waist and runs to pick it up, dripping wetness onto the cigarette-burnt and beer-stained carpet.

_"Hey, Sasuke."_

"Naruto. What do you want?"

_"Nothin'. Just thought I'd catch ya before school to ask about your examination and to give you the 411. You've missed a lot."_

"It was fine. They said they might be able to remove the wings."

_"R-Remove them? Seriously? That's...great! But are you sure about this? I mean, it's a big decision, and I don't want to stick my nose where it doesn't belong, but like...aren't your wings what basically brought you and Sakura to where you are?"_

"Like I said, they _might_ be able to remove them. I can't go back in for another week and then they'd need to do some extensive testing."

_"Okay. Well. Anyway, speaking of Sakura-"_

"We weren't really speaking of Sakura."

_"Well, I mentioned her, so that counts, and really I wanted to let you know that she had a major freak-out yesterday and fainted. It was crazy. I wasn't there for it, but it's all over the school, and Hinata went to see her after she woke up, and apparently Sakura's like...on the verge of some crazy melt-down or something. I dunno. I'm gonna look after her today though, if she shows up."_

"Do what you want. I'm going. Bye."

* * *

It rains too much here. It's vaguely reminiscent of home, as it was when Sakura had first joined their school. As it was the day her mother died. When had he heard the news that Sakura was in the hospital? Oh yes. Kakashi had announced it. Sakura's father must have called in, or maybe sent an email or something like that. Oh wait, Sakura didn't have a computer. Must have been the phone, then.

But he remembers the worry. No one had heard from or seen Sakura for two days before it was announced that she had gone through the ER. And he remembers the first time he visited her, silent, still, and covered in bandages and patchwork bruises. That was the last day it rained.

But here it doesn't stop raining, except maybe for an hour in the evenings or when it slows to a drizzle sometimes, mid-afternoon. But it pours heavily now, as Sasuke walks to the sub sandwich shop a block away from Itachi's and his rented motel room. He had thought maybe a walk in the rain would do him some good, help clear his thoughts, when he left. Now he feels silly for having left the umbrella behind.

He purchases a ham sandwich and a diet Coke and decides to wait out the heaviest of the rain and eat here. It isn't as though Itachi cares where he is no matter what time of day or night as long as police officers don't show up on the front porch and as long as he isn't late for a flight.

He hates Itachi. He's sure of that. It isn't a quite placeable hate, but he knows it exists. He won't deny that he loves his brother as well. But the hate is there. Perhaps stemming from some sort of estranged jealousy of both his parents loving Itachi instead of him. It seems stupid to him, even now, but it is there anyway. The feeling of resentment. After all, it is apparent that Itachi harnesses no feelings of affection towards him, so expressing any himself would just be a waste of time and dignity.

What would happen if he pulled off his shirt and walked around with his wing-like deformities spread out? Would people gawk and point at him? Would they think he was just another attention-seeking teenager (and he supposes he probably would be to put on a show like that, wings real or not), or would they think there was something honestly wrong with him? He has no past here. No standing.

He has no past here.

He has no past here.

Here, he is normal.

Here, he is a high school boy, eating a sandwich.

Here, he has no love.

_["Isn't it weird? We don't know anything about each other."]_

Sakura. Sakura. Sa - ku - ra.

Maybe he will call her. One last time before he makes a decision for sure. He could call Naruto who could ask Hinata what Sakura's number is. And then Naruto would tell him that he is obviously whipped, and then Sasuke would call him an idiot and possibly make fun of the blonde's relationship with the timid girl and get Naruto off of his back until he had to remind him at the end that really, he did need Sakura's phone number.

_["It's okay. I can wait."]_

Annoying.

**-=Sakura=-**

Sakura's aware that she appears insane to the public. After all, she's wearing pajamas and heels and a scarf and yesterday's make-up is half-melted on her face and she's walking around town. Playing hooky. It's a new concept to her.

_**Ino would be proud, wouldn't she? Glad to see she's made a monster out of you?**_

The world is bright and sunny and a little bit hot. Nothing feels right. Where's Ino? How is Gaara? Is Naruto taking good care of Hinata? Is Sasuke thinking about her?

She's hungry and really quite tired, and she figures she'll have to go home soon and clean up last night's vomit, and maybe change her father's sheets, because in his drunken stupors, no one knows how long he'd neglect it. And Sakura doesn't know if she could take the stench of sex emanating from her parent's room when she knows its not a sex of love or even a sex once-were love.

_**It's poison. It will choke you, if you're not careful.**_

So she walks home, biding her time though the rumbles of her stomach are borderline painful. Wondering when her father stopped loving her.

**-=Sasuke=-**

A week passes. Tomorrow he's to return to the clinic with his answer. His answer on what to do with his wings.

He straightens out the worn paper he has written Sakura's phone number on. He's folded and unfolded it several times since he wrote it down five days ago. He feels silly, once again, for not using it earlier. His behaviour is incongruous and even he can't make sense of it anymore.

_"Sasuke."_

Where her voice is just a breath, his seems deep and startlingly loud in comparison, "Sakura."

She doesn't say anything, but he knows she hasn't hung up; he can hear her breathing. Steady, though a bit too fast for anyone calm.

"Sakura," his brow furrows, as he knows his question will sound stupid and horribly out of character, but he knows no other way to ask, "What do you think of me?"

He can hear her suck in a breath, and the phone crackles like red-hot fire when she exhales. She's silent for a few more moments before finally responding in a tear-drop voice, too thick and too candy-coated to cover her sadness, _"What do you mean, Sasuke?"_

"What am I to you?" he goes right out and says it. Uchihas aren't intimidated and Uchihas don't care what people think of their character unless they find it unsightly, and even then they don't show that they care. Because caring prevents the asking of questions that need to be asked and prevents the saying of things that need to be said.

She's quiet. The silence carries on, and eventually Sasuke becomes impatient. Becomes worried.

_"You...are Sasuke,"_ she says,_ "My angel."_

_["Shh...I'm saving the world."]_

"Sakura."

_"Yes, Sasuke?"_

"Maybe...I would have shown them to you. But there's no time. There's not enough time."

_["You're the epitome of an angel."]_

_"Sasuke?" _she starts, _"You said we could go everywhere."_

_("We'll go Nowhere and Anywhere and make our way up to Everywhere.")_

Her voice is completely wilted, and he wants to brush his hands over the milky-white skin of her throat and have his touch heal her. But his dream is repeating in his head.

"I know."

She hangs up.

**-=Sakura=-**

_**Angels don't stick around-**_

As soon as the phone hits its cradle, Sakura is on the floor, sobbing.

_**-forever.**_

It hurts. Something inside her hurts, intangibly, but it hurts so so bad-

_**FLY ME AWAY FROM FROM FROM FROM FROM**_

Ino's door opens. Sakura chokes back her tears at the sight of Ino's pedicured toenails directly in front of her.

_**HERE?**_

"Get up," Ino's voice is barely comprehendible through her own garbled chokes.

_**Please**_

Sakura just stares at Ino's feet through a curtain of tear-dampened hair, incapable of understanding anything.

_**Come**_

"I told you to get up," her voice is terse.

_**Back.**_

Sakura thinks fleetingly that perhaps this lapse in comprehension will lead to punishment later, but for now she doesn't care, can't think at all.

One thing is clear-

_**You're stuck here.**_

Ino pulls Sakura up by the arm and slaps her across the face, "Get a hold of yourself!"

Sakura falls over, half-gasping, half-choking on tears of confusion. But through her sputtering she manages to look up at Ino and actually see her.

"I-Ino," she hiccups, "You're home."

Ino rolls her eyes, "Yeah. Now, since it appears you're not gonna get up, I'll have to get down to your level."

The blonde crouches down to eye-level with Sakura and whispers, "Guess what?"

"Wh-What?"

Ino smirks, "I'm pregnant."

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, 'Mad World', or anything else. Nothing belongs to me. I'm just a lowly fanfic writer.**_

_**A/N: Sorry, not as long or interesting as the previous chapter, but I wrote most of this from about 2:00-4:00 am, or other times when I was really tired, so this is pretty much the result of lack of sleep. But I wrote this awhile ago, so I'm nice and fancifully rested. Someone asked me about how many chapters were left, and I'm going to go ahead and estimate eight or nine. Which seems like a long time from now, but its really not, since I've got most of it written already and I'd like to start updating more frequently. And also, someone asked me if Sakura will be having an interlude, and the answer is yes. So you can look forward to that, dearies.**_

_**Thank you very much for all of your kind reviews! I appreciate them so much, and I love knowing what you like and dislike in a chapter. So please continue to give me feedback. And don't forget to check out the poll on my profile! ;D**_

_**Special thanks to Ira Feye for beta-ing!**_

_**-MT**_


	20. Mend Me

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Twenty: Mend Me**_

_But someone,  
They could have warned you  
When things start splitting at the seams and now  
The whole thing's tumbling down  
Things start splitting at the seams and now  
If things start splitting at the seams and now,  
It's tumbling down  
Hard._

_- "No One's Gonna Love You" by Band of Horses_

Somehow Sakura manages to convince Ino to allow her to tell Kurenai of the situation. She accompanies the two girls to Ino's first but late prenatal appointment.

During their time in the waiting room, Kurenai goes to the restroom, leaving Sakura and Ino alone.

"I don't hate you, you know," Ino says, stretching her legs, "I just don't really care about you. I don't really care who you hang out with either. I'm not gonna lie: I'm jealous as hell of you and I'm generally angry at you. But you shouldn't put any credit into the things I say. I'm surprised you've still hung around me this long when you've got a posse now."

Sakura looks at her, somehow not at all surprised.

_**How could you be? After all she's done to you?**_

"I know you're a liar. And it took me awhile, but I know now that you're not who you used to be, before you were admitted to that hospital. I know you don't care about me. It's okay."

"Thanks for coming with me," Ino says, looking at the ceiling, "You didn't have to."

_**She still loves you, somewhere in there.**_

Sakura gives her a meaningless smile, feeling quite empty and unable to think through the mud in her brain, "I'm your sister."

Kurenai returns and sits between them once again.

* * *

The girls arrive to school a little after lunch. Karin walks up to Sakura, punches her in the cheek, sending the pink-haired girl sprawling on the floor, and then she walks away.

_**Normality is strange, isn't it?**_

* * *

Two days pass.

Sakura sits with her friends at lunch, like she used to, and Gaara begins to show up to school regularly again. No one has heard anything from Sasuke since he called Sakura, and both Naruto and she are worried that he just might not intend on returning, after being gone for more than two weeks.

_**Come-**_

Sakura and Hinata become office aides during the hours they customarily would have had Biology, to escape the stresses of everything.

_**-back.**_

After school, Sakura watches as Ino examines her stomach with the mirror on the back of her door.

"Can I...feel?" Sakura motions to Ino's nearly unnoticeably rounded stomach, fidgeting nervously.

Ino sighs, putting her hands on her hips, "Go ahead. But you're not going to feel anything, stupid."

_**Untouchable.**_

Sakura gets down on her knees and puts both palms of her hands against the skin of Ino's abdomen, and marvels at the lack of difference between this stomach and her own.

"It's amazing, isn't it? You and I are probably wearing close to the same size pants right now, and you don't feel any different than me, yet you have some living being inside of you. How can you not love her?" Sakura wonders aloud, backing away from the unborn child, but keeping a smile of fondness.

_**She's inside you, breathing whispers out your nose and mouth. Can you hear them? She's a girl, she's a girl, she's a girl...**_

The blonde-haired girl scoffs and rolls her tank-top back down, "Yeah, right. Amazing. Who gave you permission to decide whether it's a boy or girl?"

Sakura's smile fades a little, "She tells me so. She whispered in my mind and I believed her."

Ino rolls her eyes and walks away, calling over her shoulder, "Whatever, Sakura. You're crazy."

_**You are crazy.**_

The doorbell rings.

"Sakura, you get it! I'm gonna take a shower!"

Sakura tentatively approaches the door. The only two people who know where she lives that would bother ringing the bell are Hinata and Sasuke, and everyone else would be there for Ino, back before she had suddenly quit her _activities_ for the sake of her baby if nothing else. Hinata probably would have called first, Sakura thinks, and Sasuke is gone. She suddenly feels unsure of herself, approaching the door, as she's always heard tales of people being snatched from their own front porches, but she opens the door anyway.

It takes her a minute of staring to comprehend who it is.

"You're back," Sakura suddenly breathes out, and rushes him into a tight hug that he gently eases out of.

_**He isn't yours, no matter how much you may want him to be.**_

"I didn't do it," he whispers, "I tried to, but I couldn't do it. You screamed for me and I drank your blood in my dreams and then I couldn't do it anymore."

He lays a hand on her shoulder and slowly moves it up until he is cupping her cheek, and he smoothes his thumb over her lips, before stopping short.

_**Though maybe, somehow, he's yours in more ways than you think.**_

"What happened to your face?" He asks gently brushing his hand over the discoloration of her skin.

Sakura wants nothing more than to live within his touch, and she wishes she could remember screaming his name and him drinking her blood as he is able to, to coax his memories inside her, but instead she settles for giving him a half-smile and a half-truth, "I got myself into trouble."

Sakura hears the patting of feet behind her, and she hears her sister's voice, "Hey, Sasuke. What's up? Nice to see you again. Guess what? I'm pregnant."

Sakura turns her head, Sasuke immediately removing his hand from her face, just in time to see Ino in a bathrobe walking towards her bedroom.

_**She's finally cracking, losing every layer of her mask and every layer of her sanity.**_

When she turns back to Sasuke, he seems to have completely ignored what Ino said, and he says, "Would you like to see them?"

"Your..." she whispers, "Wings?"

He's silent for a few moments before nodding, and barely breathing out a confirmation, "Yes."

Sakura smiles slightly, "Follow me."

She takes his hand and guides him to her bedroom, past the scattered beer cans and long-past burned-out candles and porn magazines and Ino's make-up, and she closes the door behind them.

_**Shutting yourselves off from something that is no longer really home.**_

"Your house didn't used to look like this," Sasuke says, walking to the window and putting a hand against the glass.

Sakura shakes her head, though he cannot see it from the direction he is facing, "No. I think that maybe, my father loved my mother more than anyone else. And now that she is gone, maybe he can't feel love anymore. And I know that at one point, maybe a long time ago, my father was completely made of love. So now he has nothing but beer and TV."

_**Because beer and TV mean more to him than his own children.**_

Sasuke turns around quickly, startling Sakura, and he brushes her over-grown bangs out of her face, an urgent expression on his face, "I can't protect you, like I wanted to."

Sakura's sad smile returns again.

"That's alright."

"Do you want to see them?" he asks, changing the subject again, "Do you want to see my..._wings?_"

_**Don't look back. This is it.**_

Sakura hugs him again, hoping that this time he won't push her away, and he doesn't. So she just basks in his smell of smoke that isn't mixed with bad air freshener or alcohol, but is just mixed with a smell of completely Sasuke and she feels his chest against her face and she inexplicably wants to cry, and she whispers, "I don't want to see them...yet. You aren't ready. But may I...feel them?"

_**I don't think he's the coward.**_

Nothing surprises her more than when he puts an arm around her, squeezing her tightly against him and he whispers back, "Yes."

Sakura freely lets her tears spill down her face and can't even bring herself to feel embarrassed when they begin to spot Sasuke's blue shirt.

Dark blue. Dark blue. She's drowning in it. So she has to let go.

**-=Sasuke=-**

She steps away and wipes her tears on her sleeve and goes to her bed and pulls out a scarf from beneath her white-lace covered pillow, and wraps it around her eyes, tying it behind her head.

"I'm ready," she says, a smile gleaming on her face. And Sasuke can feel that smile, filling him inside, and it gives him the courage to go through with this.

He walks toward her and puts his hands just below her shoulders and guides her to the bed, laying her down on it from the knees up. He can feel a flush on the back of his neck as he removes his jacket, and then his shirt. Then he goes to the bed himself, putting his knees on either side of hers, his hands resting on either side of her head, "I'm ready."

She gropes blindly, finding one of his muscular arms that he can feel a slight amount of pride for, and she uses that as a guide as she finds a shoulder, and she uses another hand to do the same on the other side. He bites his tongue as her hands slide down his back, getting less than half-way down before reaching the base of his wings.

Seeing her flushed face and her heavily breathing beneath him, her frail arms wrapped around him, it is reminiscent of his dream, and he readies himself for her scream. But it doesn't come. And it is nothing less than intimate when her small, frail hands trail across the feathers of his wings and she lets out a slight giggle, a wide smile forming on her face, and Sasuke joins in with her, letting out a chuckle that gives such a foreign but amazing feeling.

"I feel alive," Sasuke says, his voice reverberating throughout his entire body.

"Yes," Sakura agrees.

And they do.

**-=Ino=-**

Ino lays on the floor of the hallway, clad in nothing but her slightly-damp robe, her wet hair fanned out on the carpet as she listens to her sister and her love-interest in the girl's bedroom. At first, she had feared that Sakura was about to make the same mistakes as she once had _(getting involved, losing her virginity to a man too young, falling in love and screwing it up)_, but the longer she listens, the more she realizes that Sakura isn't anything like her. Sakura is still a child. She isn't innocent, and she isn't immature, but she's beautifully still a child.

For once, Ino doesn't feel the familiar pang of jealousy festering within her. Instead, emptiness flows all throughout her and she begins to feel the first traces of appreciation for the child within her. For giving her back her sanity _(taking it away so that lonely nights no longer consumed her)_.

She lays there a few minutes longer before pure exhaustion seems to settle within her, and she falls asleep.

She wakes up again when Sakura's door comes open, and she and Sasuke stand over her, looking down at her. He looks kinder than Ino thinks she's ever seen him, while Sakura looks the happiest she has been in a long, long time.

"Ino," Sasuke says, startling her, always having been ignored by him in the past, "Sakura and I are going to a restaurant. Would you like to come?"

He offers a hand to her, which she takes, and he helps her up. Her loose robe droops over the edge of her shoulder, and she doesn't really feel the need to recover herself, not out of lack of modesty or flirtatiousness, but out of suddenly feeling that Sasuke doesn't care, and appreciating that fact very much.

"I would."

Ino throws on a pair of jeans and a ruffled tank-top and some flip-flops and leaves her hair down, though it has dried lopsidedly wavy from her position on the floor. Then she and Sakura and Sasuke head out.

They end up at a vegan restaurant decorated with monochromatic paintings in different shades of blue, mostly caricatures and pictures of musical instruments, and everything is somehow completely un-awkward. Ino notices that Sasuke watches Sakura to make sure she finishes every bite of her vegetable wrap and every slice of orange and downs her complete glass of water before he is satisfied, and it is because of this that Ino notices for once how completely thin and breakable the girl looks. Sakura is pallid and bony and looks very similar to a younger Ino, as she had looked shortly before her hospitalization. And regret suddenly fills her.

"Sakura?"

Sakura pauses mid-giggle from something Sasuke must have said or done, intentionally or not, and looks up at Ino with wide, laughter-filled eyes, and Ino can't bring herself to voice her thoughts. So instead she says, "Do you think maybe we could go for ice cream after this?"

And Sakura nearly beams with happiness.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song. This is a fan-made fic.**_

_**A/N: Random update. But today's the first day of summer for me and I'm going to be quite busy for the next couple of days, so today is the last opportunity I'll get to update before I go to California. So hopefully you'll hear from me in a week and a half!**_

_**By the way, someone asked me in an anonymous review if the reason why Sakura freaked out with the foetal pigs was because she was pregnant at some point, and the answer is **__**no**__**. Sakura has never been pregnant. She is just very empathetic and has a strong sense of morals, and with her mental state and her family problems, she's a little unstable.**_

_**Thank you all for your wonderful support! Please review, and don't forget to check out the poll on my profile if you haven't already!**_

_**-MT**_

* * *


	21. Comfort

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter 21: Comfort**_

_And if you have a minute why don't we go  
__Talk about somewhere only we know?  
__This could be the end of everything  
__So why don't we go  
__Somewhere only we know_

_'Somewhere Only We Know' by Keane_

_

* * *

_

I love

early mornings because

the house is so

still.

Dad is usually

passed out or not even

home yet

and Ino prefers to sleep in as

late as possible.

_**She's no longer that beauty-queen straight from a magazine.**_

And for some reason

as of late

instead of feeling lonely

I actually enjoy

having the whole house to

myself.

_**Anyone would prefer silence over ghosts of once-were family members.**_

Every once and awhile I have to

wonder

what life would be like if

mom was still

here.

_**Don't even think about it.**_

Would she have

forgiven me yet?

* * *

School seems to be a friendlier place with Sasuke there, Sakura thinks. It's March now, so school will be over and done with in only over two months, so she supposes that maybe that's why students are so excited, yet flustered (perhaps from upcoming finals). And she can enjoy these things as well, now that she knows all of her friends are safe.

_**For now. But you're a screw-up, and sooner or later things will inevitably sour.**_

Tenten shows up after school again, something that's been occurring more and more often, and Sakura's even had the chance to talk to her now and then after so long. The brunette has been going steady with Neji ever since she moved out of the Hyuuga household. And for once, Sakura can be glad for them without any sort of self-pity clouding the feeling.

Sakura and numerous other individuals have been invited to Tenten's seventeenth birthday party at a log cabin belonging to her church that they've allowed her to rent.

Due to the short notice, only a small number of those invited actually attend. So on the Friday evening of her party, the group of students meets in the school parking lot to caravan to the secluded cabin.

"Well, I guess this isn't _too_ bad of a turn-out," Tenten grins, "Nine out of fifteen. It's a majority."

"But plus you there's ten and you got a mini-van. An _eight_-seater. I'm sure that will turn out _fantastic. _Thank God that Sasuke is going to be late," Kiba quips, grabbing Hinata's over-stuffed bag and tossing it in the trunk. Akamaru pokes his head out of the top of Kiba's coat and barks in what seems to be agreement.

"You can deal. And if you can't, you can always ride with our dear old chaperone, Kurenai-sensei," Tenten rolls her eyes, and turns to the woman, "Thanks, by the way."

Kurenai shrugs and laughs heartily, and from then on out, Sakura tunes out the conversation and just fiddles with the straps on her backpack. She wonders how many of these people actually want her there. And how many of them just consider her someone to take up space in the van.

_**After all this time, do you still think these people could think of you as nothing but a waste of space?**_

The van ride is long and awkward. For Sakura, at least. They all squish in, Tenten the driver and Temari, Tenten's friend from her new school riding shotgun. The middle row almost-comfortably seats Neji, Hinata, and Naruto (Neji insists that Hinata be in a row that possesses seatbelts, for her safety, and he must be there to protect her from any bodily harm if necessary; Naruto is there without his consent). The back row squishes to contain Shikamaru, Sakura, Kiba, and Rock Lee, in that order. Bags and pillows crowd around everyone and are stuffed under their seats, allowing minimal movement.

Everyone seems to get along splendidly, listening to songs on Kiba's MP3 player that are apparently quite commonly played on the radio these days, though they are completely unfamiliar to Sakura's ears. Naruto, Kiba, Tenten, and Lee sing along obnoxiously, Naruto throwing his arm over Hinata's shoulder while she blushes and Neji shoots him glares. Shikamaru stares out the window vaguely while Temari looks out for road-signs indicating where they should go next. Sakura sits somewhat awkwardly in between the dazed genius and the kid with the blaring music, unsure of what to do.

At some point during the ride, Temari pulls Tenten's camera out of her backpack and turns it on, announcing, "We have to document this occasion! It's not every day a cool cat such as Tenten turns seventeen!" She passes it to Naruto who has his arms stretched eagerly for it. He turns around in his seat, long since having abandoned his seatbelt and he begins to record Sakura.

_**Smile.**_

"So Sakura, how do you know Tenten?" he asks, hitting Kiba when he lets out a wolf-whistle.

"Um...from Geometry class?" she shrugs.

"Did you get her a super cool birthday present?" he turns around the camera to face himself as he wiggles his eyebrows, causing Hinata to giggle.

Kiba tries to lunge for the camera and then the question is forgotten, leaving those riding in the car to bicker amongst themselves over who should give the camera where, somehow making Sakura feel more included.

_**You're kind of pathetic.**_

**-=Ino=-**

Ino thinks maybe it would have been nice, to be part of the group for once. Thinks it might have been nice to have gotten on that too-crowded van with Sakura to go on that trip she was invited to with all of that girl's friends. But she's a little more than three months pregnant. And pregnant girls don't get to go to bonfires and breathe in that smoke and eat maybe not fully-cooked hand-roasted hotdogs and go on hikes where you may or may not trip and fall. And pregnant girls don't go have the night of their lives with their ex-boyfriend they cheated on that didn't get them pregnant, even if they wish he had.

Instead, strangely enough, she finds herself sitting in a coffee shop with Sai. And pregnant girls also don't drink coffee, so she drinks apple cider and eats a scone instead.

"Sai, am I a whore?" she asks dejectedly, picking at her pastry, not hungry. She doesn't want to look at him as she asks this question. She doesn't want to see his emotionless face break into a false smile and tell her yes, she is a whore. That a man, even without standards as this one is, does not want to be seen in public with a knocked-up teenager and that he never wants to see her again.

"Whore. Someone who engages in sexual activity, usually in exchange for payment. So I suppose yes, you are a whore."

She swishes her cider around in her mouth for a moment, "Huh. Didn't know there was an actual definition for it. But what you're supposed to say is 'No, beautiful. You're just a fucking lunatic.' That's better than being a whore, anyway." (_Just look at Sakura.)_

Sai stares at her unblinkingly with his pretty black eyes. He's handsome, undeniably. Perhaps even datable, if it weren't for his downright creepiness. But that doesn't matter now, because she loves Shikamaru and she's learned her lesson, and _besides,_ she has a baby now and pregnant girls don't get to date, among everything else.

"I think," Sai says, giving her a closed-eyed smile, shifting her thoughts, "That maybe you should speak to Shikamaru. Perhaps someday he can bring himself to forgive you."

Ino stares at him, gaping for a few moments before finally realizing she's had her mouth open, and promptly shuts it, "You know, maybe I was wrong. Maybe you're the lunatic."

She grabs her purse and exits the restaurant in a hurry, fleetingly thinking that maybe the only good thing about having an emotionally-stunted friend is that he can't get angry when you walk out on him.

**-=Sasuke=-**

It's beautiful, is the first thing Sasuke thinks as he drives up next to the van in the field behind the cabin. It's like something painted in a picture, all knobbly trees and wild flowers. The air smells crisp despite the slight tinge of exhaust from his recently cut engine, but he thinks the pollution will probably fade in a matter of minutes.

When he walks around to the front, he can see everyone gathered at the bottom of the steep hill. Kiba is crouched down, blowing on a sparse, barely-ignited flame of twigs, everyone encircling him, cheering him on. The first one to notice his presence is Shikamaru who has a lit cigarette between his teeth.

"Yo. It's Uchiha," he announces, jerking his head in Sasuke's direction.

He descends the staircase of wooden planks, offering a slight wave in greeting, "This everyone?"

Tenten nods happily, "Yeah. I think its pretty good, don't you? I'm thinking of bringing out the hotdogs soon. You guys interested?"

Sasuke tunes out Naruto's enthused shouts and stares at Sakura who is staring at him. He gives her a one-sided twitch of the lips before turning around and incidentally meeting Hinata's gaze. She looks at him curiously before flicking her eyes to Sakura and then back to him. She's then distracted when Naruto throws an arm over her shoulder, and Sasuke watches amusedly for a few moments as her face turns a deep shade of red, and he can't help but wonder what kind of relationship he would have with a girl. Could he make a girl blush, just by touching her? He doesn't think he'd want that. Because blushes mean nervousness, and he doesn't think he could take having a girlfriend that would always be anxious around him, inevitably leading his thoughts back to Sakura who he notices uncomfortably has been quite silent, and he can't help but wonder if she feels left out.

_["You aren't ready."]_

* * *

The evening is clear and cloudless and the air smells of grass and smoke. The miraculous fire dances across the field like a giant candle, giving everyone a somehow healthy glow, removing all ashy tones and leaving only oranges and pinks and reds _(and pinks, pinks, pinks)_. Despite being impartial to sweets, he can still enjoy everyone else's joy of roasting and eating and burning marshmallows. The air is full of laughter and squealing and the crackling of the fire and the chirping of the evening crows.

He watches with a smirk as Hinata catches her third marshmallow on fire and shrieks, blowing on it until it is left a blackened crusty mess. Kiba comes up from behind and sticks a gooey wad of sweetness into her mouth, getting it all over her lips and cheek as she jerks her head in surprise.

Sakura, who sits two benches away, watches Neji and Tenten with a sort of rapture as he tries to feed the girl a marshmallow, and how she takes the end of his finger into her mouth and nips at it with a coy smile.

If Sasuke had a relationship, would it be something like that?

He looks away from the couple and back to Sakura who is still watching the two, and wonders if that's what Sakura would want. A relationship of built up sexual tension and feeding each other and coy smiles. But Sakura looks away and begins to chat with Naruto who is somewhat jealously watching Kiba's and Hinata's interaction, and Sasuke can't help but think that Sakura isn't like Tenten and she isn't like Hinata, giving him a sense of satisfaction.

_["You are Sasuke. My angel."]_

"Yeah, Gaara couldn't come 'cause dad caught him using again and he got grounded. Figures," Temari's voice rises above all other sounds, "He's always sucked at being discreet."

"Gaara d-doesn't do drugs!" Hinata suddenly squeaks out, interrupting Temari's and Shikamaru's conversation. And then everyone is listening.

Temari lets out a loud, hearty laugh, "Are you kidding me? Most days he's high as a kite. Kankurou got him into it, but Kankurou's experienced enough not to get caught."

"You all are related?" Sakura's voice is softer and much less accusing than everyone else's, "Kankurou is in my art class..."

"Yeah, well that son of a bitch is a master at arts and crafts, if nothing else. I'm surprised none of you have even noticed Gaara's always stoned. Pretty apparent around home..."

"Why?" Hinata exclaims, "W-Why do you l-let him do it?"

"I'm not his mom," Temari rolls her eyes, before turning back to Shikamaru and beginning to talk about a band she saw in concert, effectively ending the conversation.

Sakura and Hinata share a look. And suddenly Sasuke feels out of the loop.

**-=Hinata=-**

Everyone goes on a midnight hike, their wrists and necks adorned with glowing bracelets and necklaces by Tenten's and Kurenai's orders _(so no one would get lost, so that maybe they could get just that little bit closer to the real camp-out experience)_. Hinata and Sakura walk more slowly than the others, straggling behind, though Hinata is highly aware of the fact that Sasuke is watching them to make sure nothing happens to her pink-haired companion.

"He l-loves you," Hinata murmurs to the girl, as quietly as she can so no one can overhear, "He's watching us right now."

"He probably just wants to make sure we don't get too far behind," Sakura reasons, shaking her head, "He just thinks of me as Sakura."

"I l-love Sakura. So w-why wouldn't he?" Hinata smiles. Sakura thinks the same way she used to, back when she and Naruto would share glances and smiles but everything was still pining and dreaming and not knowing.

"Sasuke isn't the only one watching," Sakura says quietly, with a slight grin on her face, "Naruto wants to come back here but he's worried about interrupting our girl talk. Look at his expression. You should go up there with him."

Hinata looks at Sakura, surprised, as the girl has never been one to talk about someone else's feelings, no matter how seemingly obvious. But when she sees the green-eyed girl's gaze on the raven-haired boy in front of them, she realizes that Sakura has different intentions. And she has to wonder if Sakura has thought about Temari's earlier revelation at all or if she's completely blocked Gaara's doings out of her head.

"Don't worry about me. I'll have company," Sakura giggles. And Hinata realizes that Sakura may actually be truly happy at the moment. That she may actually be well on her way to having a healthy mind. And perhaps Sakura doesn't need to think about Gaara right now and that the thinking and the helping is up to Hinata now so that Sakura can get better.

So Hinata nods, and as she walks past Sasuke on her way up to Naruto, she shares a look with him. _(Take care of her.)_

**-=Sakura=-**

Sakura walks outside, her small quilt wrapped around her like a shawl, a chilled soda can hidden beneath it. It's a little before 4:00 am.

"Is that Sakura?" Kiba's enthused voice distinguishes itself from the other more muted ones, and he waves at her from his place beneath one of the spotlights. She offers a sleepy smile in response, incapable of removing her arms from her make-shift cocoon.

_**That's it. Wrap yourself up tightly. Maybe when you come out, you'll be a butterfly.**_

She observes everyone. Tenten and Neji are sitting on the large wooden board that Kiba had been occupying hours earlier, engaged deeply in hushed conversation, a good ways away from the fire so only the occasional flicker would catch their face and expose more than just their basic forms. Hinata and Kiba appear to be taking a walk around the clearing, Kiba seemingly saying things to the shy girl that make her squirm. Shikamaru and Temari are unconscious on their respective mattresses; Lee is haphazardly attempting to chop fire-wood a good distance away.

Sasuke is hunched over on a bench, his elbows resting on his knees, as he stares at the fire. As Sakura gets nearer, she can see that the flames reflect in his eyes, giving them an orangey-red gleam that sends tingles down her spine. His eyes flick to hers and he offers her a slight lift of the corner of his mouth in welcome.

"Mind if I sit here?" she asks, her voice a bit husky from sleeping. She clears her throat.

He gives her half a shrug in response, nudging a block of wood onto its side out of lack of much else to do. With this action, she notices his shoes. Black and white Keds, full of holes. She giggles as she sits, peaking her arm out from beneath her blanket to deposit her drink on the bench. It sweats condensation onto the wood immediately from being so close to the fire.

"I think your shoes might actually be in about as bad condition as mine," she explains her laughter when he gives her a curious look. He just grunts in response but stares at her footwear.

She rubs at her face.

"I'm pretty sure I was wearing make-up before I fell asleep," she says gazing into the campfire, "I wonder where it is now. I'm afraid to look in the mirror."

He smirks almost unnoticeably, "Aren't we all?"

_**Ridiculous, considering he always looks perfect.**_

She looks past the fire and into the distance, where Tenten and Neji are sitting. They look like shadows against the grassy hill behind them, cast by nothing. She thinks maybe that's what demons would look like in this world, unable to manifest themselves in any other form.

_**They find you, even here.**_

"Did you sleep well?" Sasuke's voice disturbs her from her thoughts, "What woke you up?"

"Naruto's cell phone. His alarm kept going off every five minutes. He wanted to scare you guys once you all fell asleep," Sakura says taking a swig of her drink, wiping her hand on her jeans to remove the wetness from the can.

"But he was too asleep to notice," Sasuke sounds honestly amused, "Figures."

Sakura smiles, and looks at the trees.

"The trees here look like they have faces," he says, apparently realizing what she's looking at. He gestures towards them, "They have so many knots in the bark."

Sakura nods, excited by this, "Just look at the branches! They look like they're reaching for each other."

"Maybe they're lovers!" Temari grumbles irritably, plopping herself down on the bench adjacent to theirs. Her hair is down but mostly covered by a striped beanie hat, but Sakura thinks somehow it makes her look much less tough than when her hair is pulled back into the many tight ponytails.

"What's got your panties in a twist?" Kiba laughs, him and Hinata coming by on one of their laps.

Temari raises a hand and clenches it in a fist, "Say anything else and this is going in your guts."

Disturbed, Kiba grabs Hinata's hand and rushes to a safe distance away from the irritable blonde.

"Naruto's going to be jealous," Sasuke murmurs quietly, more to himself than to Sakura, fingering one of the glow sticks around his wrist.

Sakura shrugs, looking back at the trees with a stronger sense of fondness than before.

_**Even trees can find love more easily than you.**_

"Sasuke!" Lee runs too them, both arms full of poorly-chopped firewood, an urgent expression on his face, "Please feed these to the flames!" With that said, he takes off, running back to his post.

Sasuke blinks at the logs for a couple of seconds before slowly moving up to get them. He picks up a few of the smaller ones, as the fire is still going somewhat-steadily, and drops them in. The flames begin to consume the wood with a crackle, and Sasuke, looking somewhat satisfied, returns to sit beside her, this time much closer than before.

"I feel safe here," Sakura murmurs over the crisp burning before her, "I know Naruto said that this is the perfect setting for a horror movie...But nothing can touch us here."

_**Because you don't exist here, to the world.**_

Sakura brings the blanket to cover her face when the wind blows the smoke in their direction and coughs a little bit.

A howl sounds in the distance, and Akamaru, who stopped behind Hinata and Kiba, joins it.

"Except for coyotes." Sasuke gives a wry smile.

Sakura laughs.

"Yes. Except for coyotes."

**-=Hinata=-**

Hinata stares at her shoes, old hiking boots a little too big that she got from Goodwill and stuffed with tissue to make fit better. She's noticed that the people around her are separating into small groups or pairs for somewhat more private entertainment. Naruto and Sakura are asleep though, and being alone with Sasuke still makes her uncomfortable, she guesses she'd prefer to be alone.

"Hey. Want to go for a walk with me?"

Hinata looks up. Kiba holds a hand out for her to help her up. She stares at it dumbly.

"In the r-riverbed?" she asks, surprised, "But Tenten said-"

"No, no. I mean, just like...walk. You know. Around the property," he flashes her a toothy grin and motions for her to come with his outstretched hand.

She tentatively takes his hand and lets him pull her to her feet.

They talk for awhile. About unimportant things. He tells her random stories, some that sound true and others that sound ridiculous, but all of them make her giggle just a little, and make her feel a little less lonely. She doesn't know how long they've been walking, but she figures it's been a while when Sakura comes out in a sleepy daze and sits quite predictably beside Sasuke, but she and Kiba continue making their rounds, enjoying each other's company.

Finally, Kiba slows to a halt in the corner of the clearing furthest from the rest of the group.

"I wish you weren't dating him," Kiba finally confesses, brushing some of his unruly hair out of his face and concentrating on something in the distance instead of meeting her gaze.

"I'm sorry?" she asks, confused, completely unprepared for this turn of events.

"It's just...you weren't ever alone, you know. I was always watching out for you, even though you didn't know it," he sighs, "I guess I just hoped you'd pick me in the end, rather than him."

Hinata is vaguely aware that Akamaru is howling at something in the distance.

She blushes vibrantly, and looks towards the ground, "S-Sorry."

"It's not your fault, I guess. He just beat me to the punch," he shrugs, but then offers her a wolfish grin, "And don't worry. I'm not about to give up. I'll be waiting. And someday you'll realize that."

Hinata thinks of the boy she used to play house with who wore face-paint when she was a little girl, and how as they got older he would let her curl up and cry on his couch when she was afraid to go home. And she thinks of how he's here now, confessing his love of sorts to her, and how strange it is that she somehow feels nothing in return _(because he doesn't know everything, doesn't __really__ know anything). _Not even any sort of estranged guilt, never having led him on in any way _(had she told him, he wouldn't love her, would he?)_.

She gives him a soft smile, "D-Don't worry, Kiba. There are much better girls th-than me out there."

"Silly girl," Kiba continues walking, "I don't want any of them."

**-=Sakura=-**

Sasuke

takes my hand,

something we're both so strangely

and completely

used to,

and rubs his thumb in a

circle

across the back of it.

_**Can you believe it?**_

"Hey, I

grabbed a few drinks.

Anybody

want one?"

Tenten asks,

raising a soda can to the

sky. Sasuke

lifts a hand and releases

mine to

catch the drink

sailing toward him.

"This is going to

explode

when I open it,"

I hear Temari grumble

as she fumbles

with hers.

Sasuke just sets his aside,

probably

assuming the same thing

about his own.

_**Or just wishing to hold your hand again.**_

My eyes water.  
Everything smells of smoke

and

it burns in my chest.

My eyelids feel

heavy.

But I can't sleep.

I'm too awake and too totally

aware

of _everything._

_**And **__**everything**__** is aware of you.**_

I lay a head on Sasuke's shoulder

and he

puts an arm around my waist.

And I'm so just completely

comfortable.

And

it's nice because I can

look at the sky and even though

there are lights,

artificial ones,

illuminating everything,

I can honestly say

this

is beautiful.

"You're perfect,"

Sasuke murmurs,

holding me a little bit more

tightly.

I want the fire to

consume us.

_**Love me.**_

-

-

-

They all sit outside, waiting for the sun to rise, Naruto half-asleep, with an arm draped over Hinata's shoulders, and Shikamaru lying on the ground on his back with half-lidded eyes, a few feet a way from Lee, who has finally nodded off. Temari feeds the fire, groggily, poking it with a long stick while Kiba watches in amusement. Neji and Tenten stand, holding hands, staring at the clouds in the distance, while Sakura sits contentedly beside Sasuke on a bench, wrapped in his arms, while she plays with his faintly-glowing bracelets. Kurenai watches them all in satisfaction, simply enjoying the chance to observe all of her students and their friends having fun.

"It's starting!" Tenten jumps in excitement, pointing at the horizon.

Everyone straightens up a little bit, somehow eager to watch something so simple, except for Sakura, who has fallen fast asleep.

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the song used at the beginning. Those belong to their respective owners.**_

_**A/N: I finally got this chapter up! Yay! This chapter needed lots of editing since I wrote it in bits and pieces that needed to be pieced together. I hope you guys are happy with the fluff. I hope you don't think Sasuke is too out of character!**_

_**Guess what? It's my birthday this Saturday! I'm turning sixteen. Give me lots of review-presents? I'd like to know what you think and what you hope/expect to happen in the chapters ahead.**_

_**Thanks to my beta, Ira Feye!**_

_**-MT**_


	22. One Year the Wiser

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Twenty-two: One Year the Wiser**_

_Stop before you fall  
__into the hole that I have dug here  
__Rest even as you  
__are starting to feel the way I used to  
__I don't need a better thing  
__Just to sound confused_

_- 'Lose You' by Pete Yorn_

---

There's something funny

about the concept of

sweet sixteens,

or maybe

just birthday parties in general.

Everyone celebrates

the fact that you were born

but

no one is really doing that,

they're just

celebrating the fact that they get

cake and

a good time,

and hey,

guess what?

You're the center of

attention.

_**That's the price of existing.**_

All I can think of is

all those other lucky girls who

get family heirlooms and

birthstone-rings

from mothers they still have.

They're so happy because they're

growing up and it's

their time

and it's

their life

but

I just want to

crawl back

into the womb and

exist there

forever.

Because someday

I'll

be on my own

and that scares me.

_**Yes, go on and cry like the infant you were meant to always be.**_

**-=Ino=-**

It's Sakura's sixteenth birthday.

What do you do for a sister that isn't really yours that you've snubbed horribly and tried to love but can't quite do it? _(But you're trying, and that's supposed to be enough, right?) _Ino knows this shouldn't bother her. She may have made some sort of rocky amends with the girl, but that doesn't mean their relationship is anything near sisterly and she's convinced she doesn't want it to be.

She just maybe sort of wants to know that when her child is born that she'll have someone else to support the girl _(not a girl just because of what Sakura said, simply a gut feeling, and maybe the fact that she wants her maternal instincts to be stronger than Sakura's mental whispers)_ and that Sakura will have some sort of incentive not to run away with the Uchiha boy when he performs the inevitable and sweeps her off her feet. Not that Ino cares, of course.

Ino thinks that maybe the reason she's even thinking about this at all is because her hormones are making her crazy, thanks to the pregnancy and the stress of concealing it from her father and the words of Sai repeating in her head, telling her to just speak to Shikamaru like somehow that would make it okay, because of course there's no way Sakura would choose her over Sasuke after all she's done, and Ino would be insane to think otherwise. But it's not Shikamaru's child and he would not want it, and whether Ino still loves him or not is beside the point because everyone at school knows she's pregnant with the way she's been spouting the information and not once has he confronted her. So she has to win at least one of them over because it's certainly too late to give herself a new reputation and she needs some sort of guarantee from someone or something.

So that leads her back to the problem at hand. What to give Sakura?

Ino spends the entire early hours of the morning sifting through the things she's collected over the years, something fitting for a sixteenth birthday, hoping to find something beautiful and amazing, and oh-so-perfect...but when her alarm clock goes off for the third time, reminding her that she _really should_ be heading off to school now, she has no choice but to grab all her school things from by the door and rush out before any real decision is made.

**-=Sakura=-**

Despite the pounding in her head, Sakura manages to pull herself out of bed, one step at a time. She limply pushes the sheets away from her body, and slinks out of bed, landing unsteadily in a heap on the floor. She holds a hand to her head for a moment before pulling on yesterday's pants, not yet standing up.

She contemplates putting a bra on under her cami for a moment before realizing that the only one nearby is a black one draped over the door-knob, and that would go quite uselessly under a white top. So she pries herself off the floor and stumbles into the front yard and decides to lie in the grass until Sasuke shows up.

_**You rely too heavily on him.**_

Ino doesn't notice Sakura as she exits the house in a flurry of dropped bags and curses, slamming the car door and zooming out of the driveway so quickly she almost hits the car backing out of the neighbor's garage. The horn's honking and the tire's screeching do nothing to help the girl's headache, so she throws an arm over her eyes and tries to meditate until she hears Sasuke's tires on the pavement.

She tiredly lifts an arm to show him where she is, and he hops out of his car and bounds over to where she is, obviously aware of the fact that he's a little bit late. He looks down at her with a slightly confused expression.

"Do you intend on going to school dressed like that?" he asks, "You might want to consider shoes."

Sakura blinks slowly, smiling despite her mood, "I'm staying home today."

He kneels down beside her, the grass crinkling beneath his feet. He puts a hand on her forehead for a second before pulling it away and nodding, "Let's get you back inside."

Watching Sasuke's movements makes Sakura dizzy and all she can think of over the loud pounding in her head is that she wants his cool hand back on her burning skin.

_**And your forehead isn't the only place you want him to touch you.**_

She just stares at the sky, breathing for a moment before pushing herself up and allowing Sasuke to half-carry her back into the house and into her room where he gently leaves her to her bed.

Sakura wants to go to sleep, but right now she can only think of how strongly she misses her mother and how she would bring soup to her bed on a tray when she was sick and how she would stroke a comforting hand upon her hair and sing her lullabies when she was younger.

_**Happy birthday.**_

**-=Sasuke=-**

When Sasuke turns around to leave, Sakura grasps the edge of his shirt and asks quietly, "Do you think maybe you could stay here with me today?"

He wants to. He thinks of how nice it could be to just spend a day with Sakura and how it could be just like when he stayed with her in the hospital, only now she isn't depressive and he isn't walking on egg-shells. But he also thinks of how finals are soon and how he's got a few missing homework assignments and a test to correct and a math review to attend if he wants to maintain his grades and graduate top of his class, so instead of doing what he wants, he gives her a shake of the head.

"I'll make a copy of today's notes for you," he says taking the hand holding his shirt in his, knowing he likes the feeling of it a bit too much, "I'll see you tomorrow."

He turns her light off and looks at the doorknob for a moment, staring at the bra that hangs from it for a second before leaving the room, and he thinks maybe he should have at least told her to get better soon, or something equally as pointless but expected.

**-=Ino=-**

Ino finds Sasuke swapping books out at his locker, Sakura nowhere to be found.

"Sasuke," she says and clears her throat, having to stand uncomfortably close to him with the crowd moving steadily through the hallway towards their first-period classes. She's suddenly very self-conscious of how she looks and smells. Whether Sasuke is off-limits or not, he's still incredibly gorgeous, "I think you should know that today is Sakura's birthday. I figure the best thing I can do is let you know that she's turning sixteen today so you can make it special for her."

Ino turns to walk away, Sasuke still staring after her, before turning back to face him, "By the way, I'm switching lockers back with her. She's all yours."

As she walks to the locker Sakura shares with Sai, somehow blending into the crowd, Ino is somewhat happy with a decision she's made for the first time in a long time.

**-=Hinata=-**

School is lonely without Sakura, and where Sakura isn't, neither is Sasuke, so Hinata spends most of the day with Kiba, Naruto, and Gaara, depending on what class period.

It's during second period when Kiba tells her that Hana says she misses her and that it isn't fair that Hinata lives behind them and never comes over for dinner. And so it's after school when she has to decline going to the park with the Naruto, but she makes it better with a kiss before running off to get a ride with Kiba and his sister.

"So, Hinata, it's been a long time since you've been over. Has your taste in food changed at all? I think my cooking has gotten better, so I can probably make pretty much anything you suggest," the young woman trails off.

"By that she means her cooking expertise has pretty much expanded to toast and microwave dinners," Kiba laughs at his own tease and ducks when Hana swings her purse at him.

When they get back to his house, they go to their conjoined backyards to climb their old fort.

"Check this out!" Kiba chuckles, "It's our wedding vows. Remember when Kurenai married us in the front yard? And all your stuffed animals and my action figures attended the wedding? Man, that is just hilarious."

"Y-yes, well you were the c-cutest kid on the block," Hinata laughs with him, happy that he is the one person she can joke freely with like this.

"Were? What do you mean 'were'? Unless you're implying that I've gone from the cutest to the hottest. Because I'd have to agree with you there."

"I w-wouldn't go that far..."

Hinata squeaks as Kiba tackles her and starts to tickle her, "Admit it! I won't stop until you admit it."

She holds her breath, trying not to laugh as her stomach muscles twitch and she curls into a ball. Finally she squeals and bursts into squeaky embarrassed laughter, "I g-give!"

"You have to say it."

"Y-you're the hottest k-kid on the block!"

Kiba nods, "That's more like it."

**-=Sakura=-**

Sakura sits in the living room, watching the television her father is usually in front of (there's in indentation in the couch where his weight has sunk in the cushion), watching a program on the channel he left it on. She doesn't ever watch TV. It makes her eyes hurt and her mind numb, but today that seems okay and really she's so lonely she wants to try to relate to her father and really try to understand why he would prefer to sit here all day instead of do something with either her or Ino.

Porn is interesting, she thinks. Watching it sends her blood rushing to places and it makes her body very warm, though she thinks maybe that could be from the fever that hasn't quite broken yet. It's kind of exciting in a way, but she wouldn't really say it's enjoyable. It makes her stomach knot and the area between her thighs ache, but she thinks that maybe she could chalk at least one of the two of those up to sickness.

_**You feel dirty, don't you? You're being naughty, and that scares you doesn't it?**_

No, she can't really understand it at all. The slight excitement isn't worth the aching or the sudden longing. She doesn't understand what all the hubbub over breasts is about. In every program she's seen, the man has always covered the woman's bosom with his tongue, or complimented her lovely endowments. Sakura can't help but think, why? Both males and females have them, just women have them bigger.

_**You're just jealous because you don't have any. You're so worried about leaving childhood behind, but here you are trying to play grown-up.**_

The doorbell rings and Sakura turns off the cable box, and she temporarily wonders how her father manages to afford one and thinks maybe they have it illegally until she realizes that walking is uncomfortable amidst the lust still pooling in her stomach. She opens the door to see Sasuke and is slightly surprised after his hasty retreat this morning. And she is even more surprised when she notices he's carrying a carton of cupcakes.

"Sorry. I only had ten bucks and the only things they had for less than that were princess themed," he shrugs, "Can I come in?"

She stares for a minute before nodding and making room for him and his cupcakes, shutting the door behind him.

"Why?" she asks, following him into the dilapidated kitchen where he lifts the lid and pulls out one of the cakes, handing it to her gently, attempting to avoid getting any frosting on his hands.

On top of the cupcake, and every other cupcake is a small pink ring with the image of one of the fairytale princesses she never familiarized herself with. She pulls it out of the mound of frosting and licks it clean before sliding it on her littlest finger.

"It's the best I could do on such short notice. Happy birthday, Sakura."

She looks up at him with wide eyes, and surprises herself when tears start to gather on her bottom lashes. And she suddenly wants to kiss him. Like in the fairytales she's never seen or read. But then she thinks maybe it's just because of the still-remaining lust that only intensified when he walked through the door, so she ignores the urge and just smiles instead.

"I love it. I'll keep this ring forever," she laughs childishly, and she can't help but think that maybe turning sixteen isn't so bad if she can think about sex and about princess rings at the same time.

**-=Hinata=-**

When Hana caught the pan of eggs on fire, they decided to order out instead. One meat-lovers and one plain-cheese pizza later, Kiba and Hinata moved outside to sit on the porch swing.

It creaks with each swing. It's old and familiar and comforting but it's also sort of cold outside because the weather still can't decide between spring and summer yet. Kiba drapes his hoodie over her shoulders without her asking to, and she gives him a sweet smile and a tiny blush in response.

"You're beautiful."

And then suddenly his lips are on hers and they're soft and smooth if not a little bit probing but it's not Naruto and it's wrong, _wrong, WRONG_--

Hinata pushes Kiba away, stumbling backwards a little bit and off the bench, eyes wide with shock and blush rising.

"Aww, shit," Kiba curses, lifting a hand towards her, "Hinata, I'm sorry. I just thought that... I mean, it seemed like..."

Her heart is leaping in her chest with something similar to dread _(and she's sorry, Naruto, she's so, so sorry because its her fault anyways, and for a moment there she __enjoyed__ it). _And without listening to the rest of his jumbled explanation, she blurts, "D-Did you feel anything?"

"Did I what? Oh. I don't know. I mean, it was so fast and I'm sorry, I wasn't even thinking. I'm so fucked up; why would I think that was okay? I mean it's not like-"

"Did y-you feel anything?" she persists, taking a daring step towards him. She needs to know, because if he felt something then it really is her fault and there's no way she can fix that.

He takes a deep breath and threads his fingers through his hair in a flustered sweep, "No. No, I didn't. I think that...I was wrong before. I think that really, I just love you like a sister. But I just fucked that up, didn't I?"

Hinata shakes her head to herself, "It... It's n-not your fault."

She walks back up to him and with an increasing blush she pecks him on the cheek before walking past him, down the porch steps and away from the house.

The walk to Naruto's is a long, but familiar trek. She's glad that she hadn't thought to return the jacket Kiba had draped over her shoulders, and the more she thinks about it, the surer she is that what happened really is her fault. That thought alone is enough to bring tears to her eyes as her gut becomes heavier and heavier with guilt and dread, but she tells herself _it's okay, Naruto loves you and you love Naruto and it's okay. _But she's also scared that some things can't be excused so easily.

She climbs the four flights to Naruto's apartment and knocks on his door urgently. When he comes to the door, shirt stained and eyes-bleary, only then does she realize what time it is, but that doesn't matter much in the whole scheme of things, but it still adds to the weight of her guilt when Naruto's expression becomes concerned, "Hinata, what's wrong?"

She flings herself forward and wraps her arms around his stomach, feeling so short and small, taking comfort in the smell of ramen. His arms come around her and engulf her tiny form and she feels safe here, but she's afraid that maybe that won't last long because after everything both Kiba and Naruto have done for her, she has to go and screw things up...

"Come on, Hinata," he says, and picks her up in a bear-hug, kicking the door shut behind him, and walking her to the sofa nearest the door where he drops her and pulls her into his lap. Her back is against the armrest and her legs take up the cushion next to him and she lays her head against his collarbone where he shushes her until her hiccup-sobs cease altogether.

"Tell me what's wrong? Please?" his voice is strained and his eyes are large and wondering. He pushes her tear-dampened bangs away from her face and presses his lips against her forehead.

She looks down, "You're going to b-be angry."

"Hinata, I could never be angry with you."

"Y-you should be," she murmurs.

"Tell me."

She takes a deep breath, "I was at Kiba's house b-because his sister wanted me over f-for dinner. And one thing l-lead to another and I guess I lead him on because he...he k-kissed me."

She buries her face in her hands, waiting for Naruto to do anything. Shout, storm away, anything.

"Well, what happened then?" Hinata jerks her head up to look at him in surprise. His voice is more strained and his eyes are harder, but she gets the feeling that the anger he feels isn't towards her.

"Well th-that's the thing. It's my fault because he didn't like it b-but...I did."

Naruto snorts, "Figures. I guess dog-breath _does_ have more experience than I do. How dare he say he didn't like it? Want me to teach him a lesson?" He pats her head.

"I don't understand," Hinata whispers, still waiting for the moment he pushes her off his lap.

"Well, the only question I have is, what do you want to do about it? I'm still here if you want me. And if you want the mutt then I'll whoop his ass into shape until he deserves you. But you're welcome here. You're always welcome here," his eyes are a little watery, and Hinata can't help but wonder if he objects to that option as much as she does.

She giggles a little, though a couple more tears come down with it, "N-No, Naruto. I want you. I love you."

He holds her a little more tightly, "Good. But you can still expect a few bruises on the dog-boy's behind, come tomorrow."

Burrying herself further into his arms, Hinata has to wonder if he noticed her slip of the L-word or not.

**-=Sasuke=-**

Sakura is warm and soft and oh-so-light in his arms, if not a little bit sticky. In apology for not staying with her today, he agreed to stay over for the remainder of the evening. So they had popped in a VHS of a movie neither of them had ever heard of and settled comfortably, Sakura in Sasuke's arms and a blanket wrapped around them. So she could sweat her fever out, he'd said. Because in his arms her bones feel like twigs that her flesh clings to, so weak and white that he thinks maybe a fever could be enough to break her.

Some point during the beginning of the film, the girl had passed out, and now she dozes lightly, head against his chest, in tune with his heart and the air whooshing in and out of his lungs.

This moment feels perfect, like something he can hold onto, if somehow something goes wrong.

They could be boyfriend and girlfriend, he thinks. It sounds silly, ringing in his mind like the laughter of a small child _(Sakura and Sasuke sitting in a tree. K-I-S-S-I-N-G...)_ and he thinks that with thoughts like these he might as well be writing her name in cursive on his notebooks for all the good it does. But still, they could be something. They could be _together._ They hold hands and he holds her and he buys her gifts and she accepts them and she makes his heart beat faster and makes him feel like he's worth something, but really that's probably just Sakura being Sakura and he cannot tell her he loves her and he cannot kiss her because it's all unspoken and neither of them really know. And he's afraid to ask what they are because that could break the illusion they've so comfortably set up for themselves. Though he'll never admit it, because that's one of the many rules of being an Uchiha; an Uchiha never questions things.

As the ending credits roll and bad pop music blares suddenly from the speakers, Sakura's eyelids flutter open. Sasuke watches from above as her eyelids flick, her eyes searching the room. Her fingers unconsciously tighten around his crinkled T-shirt and her joints pop as she stretches her creamlike legs, the hyperextension making them seem even paler. She curls back up and he tucks the blanket back around her bare feet _(I want to protect you)_.

_["You don't have to protect me. I just want to be friends."]_

"Are you ready to get up, yet?" he asks her, amused.

She shakes her head into his chest, her hair mussing up further, "I don't want to move yet."

"I'm going to have to leave soon. My curfew is midnight and it's a little after eleven," he reminds her softly.

She shrugs briefly and then they sit in silence. She pulls a ring from one of her fingers (he doesn't know how, but somehow her small body managed to ingest three cupcakes in the course of one evening, and she proudly wears a ring for each cake she ate) and slips it onto the end of his little finger. His hand is much larger than hers and the ring doesn't go on much further past the first joint, but she seems satisfied enough.

_["I'll keep this ring forever."]_

"Hey, it's your birthday, not mine," he smirks, thinking of how there's no way in hell Naruto would be able to refrain from laughing his ass off at this moment. _(Whipped! You're whipped, man.)_

She smiles comfortably before slowly pulling herself out of his lap, taking the blanket with her, but keeping one of her hands in his, "Will you come back and see me tomorrow?"

"Hn," Sasuke grunts in affirmative before standing up and stretching his shoulders. The door seems too close and he doesn't want to leave the moment so quickly, but he thinks that sounds too cheesy so he pulls Sakura to her feet and walks them both to the door, "See ya."

"See ya," Sakura mimics, releasing his hand and waving to him, closing the door behind him as he leaves.

He's half-way through the drive home when he realizes he's still wearing the princess ring.

_---_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or "Lose You" by Pete Yorn. This is a fan-made fic.**_

**A/N: This chapter was difficult to think of. But once I started typing it, I couldn't stop and so I ended up writing the whole thing in one night. It just took until 4:00 am to complete it. Special, huh?**

_**Please tell me what you think! I'm interested in knowing what you guys expect to happen...or just what you think about what has already happened!**_

_**Give a big thanks to my beta, Ira Feye!**_

_**And please check out the new poll on my profile, if you get the chance! Thanks!**_

_**-MT**_


	23. Gaara's Interlude

_**Somebody**_

_**By Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter Twenty-three: Gaara's Interlude**_

_Big shot screaming "Put your hands in the sky!"  
(Tearing out all these open pages)  
He says, "Give it up boy, give it up boy, or you're gonna die!"  
(Woman and kids of all ages)  
You'll get a bullet in the back of the neck  
(Millions of men with blank faces)  
In the back of the neck, right between the eyes  
(Italicised lies, headlines, bold)_

_- 'Hands in the Sky (Big Shot)' by Straylight Run_

_

* * *

_

He never had a mother-figure. He has a father, and he once had a secondary father-figure _(I'm going to make you scream, little boy)_, but in the end whatever existed of his parents doesn't mean much, because he's all grown up and the teenage years are supposed to be the years of rebellion and making life your own, aren't they?

He's sure she must have been beautiful. Though the only picture he has of her is one from her twenties, when she couldn't keep a hair-color for more than a week and her hair is a vibrant, petal pink.

But she died when he was born. And took his father's soul with her. Though Gaara can't really blame her, because dying as a single soul sounds rather lonely to him.

But it's still unfair. Because that means he's in the world all by himself with two dead parents, one literally and one figuratively, and two siblings that couldn't care less whether he existed or not. So he wishes just a little bit that when his mother died, she'd taken him with her instead of a father that can't love him. Because unfairness seems to be the theme of life, and he just wishes that for once it could work in his favor.

_**One.**_

Gaara is four years-old.

The world is full of bright colors that the gets to see through the tinted glass of limo windows. Daddy has an important job as the governor and it would be dangerous for him to go out alone, so he lives within boundries of closed-in walls and the constant watch of baby-sitters and security-detail. Life is slow, life is small, life is not quite real...

Gaara has a gourd full of yellow-white ash [Your mother would have loved that. A gourd instead of an urn.] the same size as he is that sits beside his bed. He's young and fun is limited and mommy isn't there because she's only as real as the life he currently lives but she lives in his mind, in the gourd, in the ash and she talks to him and he talks to her because when you're young life is beautiful and it's okay if you play make-believe and no one will look at you funny.

_**Two.**_

Gaara is six. Friends are difficult to come by when you're homeschooled and the only thing you really know about people is that they want to hurt you. So Gaara doesn't speak. He barely knows how anyway. Besides, what does speaking matter when there's no one to speak to?

Then Gaara's uncle visits. He's only there to teach Gaara self-defense. But since daddy is never home and mommy only exists in pictures and ash-gourds, he looks up to this man who he's told looks so much like mommy but yet so little.

_"This is a photograph of your mother, Gaara. She's beautiful, isn't she? Why don't you keep it?"_

He treats the picture like glass. He has to be careful with it. It's beautiful, and oh-so-breakable, and if he isn't careful, it could tear him apart.

_**Three.**_

Nine years-old.

_"I've put up with this for three years and I-"_

Life is as perfect as it could be. He learns things so much faster when his uncle is the one teaching him. He makes things fun. And he always gets to learn things about mommy and the things she did.

_"-can't take it anymore because I tried to love you (just because you're hers) but-"_

His IQ is much higher than that of both his siblings. He shows the most promise, and gives daddy a good image, gives the man something to feel pride over.

_"-you're a monster. A fucking monster, do you hear me? You should have-"_

He has toys. So many toys. His room is full of them. Dinosaurs, baseballs, action-figures, books, crayons of every color.

_"-died instead of her and you know what? I'm going to kill you. You're going to die little boy and-"_

And Gaara's happy.

_"-it will be by my hands because it's your fault she's dead and-"_

And then his uncle snaps and tries to strangle him.

_"-I hate you because she was __**my sister**__!"_

And then Gaara learns about irony when he somehow manages to stop a man three times his size thanks to the self-defense class the very same man taught him, and stabs him in the throat with a kitchen knife. And then when the media finds out, Gaara's father isn't so proud anymore. [You're a disappointment.]

_**Four.**_

When you're ten years-old and still playing make-believe, people aren't so forgiving. Especially after you've killed a man and you never sleep and you never talk but sometimes you scream, and when you do it's for your dead mother _(because it's your fault she's dead and-) _but when you're the governor's son, you get priveledges like not being sent to a hospital when maybe you should [and you should be greatful, my son].

Gaara thinks about blood all the time, about his uncle's blood flowing down the handle of the knife and all over the cabinets and the floor and his hands and he likes it because _he has to._

_**Five.**_

When Gaara is twelve he starts visiting a psychiatrist [it's for your own good, son]. He's on medication all the time, and it makes him tired and dazed and his work suffers for it and soon his father doesn't look to him for being his pride-and-joy child, but Gaara looks on the bright-side because that's what the medicine is for, because isn't it just great that he can sleep without dreaming now?

It doesn't take long before his father starts his own self-medication.

_**Six.**_

Gaara is fourteen years-old. Now that Gaara's father is a drunkard there's no room for him in politics, and without politics there's hard-labor and little money, and with hard-labor and little money that means no help for homeschooling and no money for psychiatry. So Gaara is thrust into the world of public-schooling, but it's okay because he has Kankurou's own self-perscribed medication of heroine and cocaine and that's enough to get him through the days when the lack-of-sleep and the thoughts of blood and killing and his mother's make-believe voice crying in his head, singing to him from his gourd in the middle of the night becomes too much.

He joins a gang. Life is much easier when you've got people to share it with. People who share your passion for blood and violence and drugs but also share your aching and longing for something better. Even if they don't care particularly for you.

But eventually life moves on and Gaara moves to a new school, where he meets a blonde, whiskered boy that smiles at him and keeps him from beating people up, telling him that maybe he doesn't have to like the feeling of blood on his hands. _Forget. Forget. Forget._

* * *

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 'Hands in the Sky (Big Shot).' Those belong to their respective owners.**_

_**A/N: ******__For some reason the center justification wasn't working, so everything is left justified. And _I know what you're thinking. Probably something along the lines of WTF MAN, because I've sort of had this written since July, but it was supposed to be chapter twenty-four instead of chapter twenty-three, but I wasn't happy with the way the climax of the story was gonna go, but I've just sort of accepted it as is. I mean, I've pretty much quit fanfiction except for this story, which I'm going to try to finish once I'm not grounded (I'm not supposed to be on the computer right now, but my mom thinks I'm doing homework). I don't know if I'll actually get to writing the next chapter ever, but I'm gonna try. I think I just have to write two more chapters, and then I have the rest already done.

**_And thank you to my lovely beta, Ira Feye who has stuck with me despite my complete and utter laziness!_**

_**By the way, if there is anything that any of you really want to happen before this story ends, please tell me and I can see if it works in with my master plan, my lovelies. It'll help stimulate the plot-bunnies as well, I suppose.**_

_**-MT**_


	24. A Fairy Tale Part One

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter 25: Prelude to a Fairy Tale or**_

_**A Fairy Tale Part One**_

_The warmth of it splatters  
We all can wring her neck  
First, we gain new terrain  
When we're young, we get seasick  
On your seven_

_- "New Terrain" by Mew_

**---**

When Sasuke gets there, he's a little too late. Not too late for her life, but for the circumstance alone because the girl is already broken and he can't protect her the same way he used to, but he tries anyway and kicks the man on top of her into the wall three yards away, cracking the brick behind him. The other men attempt to join the fight, but Sasuke has them lying unconscious in half a second.

He scoops the disengaged girl into his arms, ignoring her bare legs, but tugs the ripped dress down that was already too-short when it was whole to cover her as well as possible and he carries her away, into an abandoned park. She pulls on his sleeve a little and motions for him to put her down. He does so warily.

She stares at him through hazy eyes for a minute, and he waits for a break down, but none comes.

"Dance with me?" she requests of the man she hasn't seen in years, "I knew an angel once; he looked just like you. It's too bad I'm drunk or maybe I'd remember this in the morning. Or maybe I'd just remember a man who looked almost like an angel I knew a long time ago coming to save me. Maybe it's a good thing I'm drunk, because maybe I'll remember this a little bit, and when I wake up tomorrow I'll cry, but I won't feel crazy, because maybe I'll feel like that angel a long time ago really did exist."

Her eyes are glassy and full of forever unshed tears, her make-up smudged like maybe she did cry once, but her tears were dead and they just left dusty charcoal tracks. She hugs him and stands on her toes so that she can press her moist cheek to his cool one.

"I've never had a slow dance, you know," she says in that same cracked and broken voice, "Can we pretend we're dancing? I hear the music and the world is spinning all around us. And maybe if you just put your hand on my waist, I'll know what it's like."

"Sakura."

She lets out a little girl laugh, not at all charming, and she licks her candied lips, "You even know my name," she leans closer to his ear and murmurs with hot breath that smells of scotch, "My mother used to laugh a lot. It sounded like tiny Christmas bell or a strummed instrument. I used to practice laughing so I could sound like her…but here I am, my voice sounding like crushed glass."

She's warm and sticky and she feels like an infant, fresh from a mother's womb, slick with tear-filled eyes and an unpractised voice. And even though her voice cracks and grates in her chest, she speaks to him anyways, telling him everything she's never said to anyone that she's always wanted to.

"I want to kiss you, but you look too much like him, and I'm afraid that if I do kiss you, maybe since you look just like him you'll fly away without me once you grow your wings," her voice lowers in volume and she looks directly into his _darkdarkdark_ eyes that look just like the ones she remembers, but maybe a little less sad, and she says, "Make me an angel, and I'll make you real."

He puts his hands on her hips to give her the dance she wants, because he can't offer her anything else.

His voice is endlessly deep and full and just how she remembers it _(imagined it?)_, "I can't give you wings the way you gave me flight. But my name is Sasuke, and I'm here to save you."**-**

Then Sakura wakes up.

**-=Sasuke=-**

When Sasuke finds Sakura that morning (he waited in the car for a few minutes before realizing the door was open and then became worried that there had been a break-in), she's in a bundle of blankets in the middle of the living room floor, behind the sofa he had held her on the night of her birthday, and her dad is snoring on the sofa while some action film is airing.

"Hey, Sasuke," Sakura's muffled voice erupts from the entanglement of quilts, "I'm a caterpillar in a chrysalis. Shh, I'm changing into a butterfly."

Ino, who is usually already gone by this point, exits the hallway bathroom in a robe (a look he's seeing on her more often these days) looking like she just finished vomiting for the past fifteen minutes, "She's been like that since I got up. Knock some sense into her, will ya?"

"Sakura, we're running late," Sasuke hints not-so-subtly to the girl who begins to squirm in the blankets, "Need some help?"

"Nuh-uh. Butterflies cannot receive aid from outside sources, or they might die! Their cocoon must not be interfered with!"

Sakura bursts from her cocoon of blankets, and it takes Sasuke a few seconds to realize she's curled in a ball and wearing a pair of little girl's Halloween fairy wings. She wiggles them around for awhile before Sasuke gets that she's not getting up anytime soon. Suddenly, she pops up, grabs a bag by the door and runs out. He stands there for a few seconds before turning around and following the pink-haired girl outside and down to his car where she already sits in the passenger seat, the wings and the bag in the back.

He carefully and deliberately goes through each motion of getting in the car, before putting the vehicle into reverse and pulling out of the driveway, "So, what's going on?"

"I felt like being a butterfly today. Butterflies are really pretty and people always say that when they're nervous its like there are butterflies in their stomach, and I guess I'd feel like vomiting if I swallowed a bunch of butterflies, but anyway, I wanted to feel pretty for what I'm maybe going to do today," Sakura explains as she combs her fingers through her mussed pink tresses.

_["If I jump, maybe my wings will sprout and I will fly."]_

Somehow Sakura's explanation doesn't do much in the way of quelling his worries so he presses forward, "And what's that?"

"Umm...secret. I'll tell you later."

---

It's during second period English when a senior reminds everyone over the intercom that the Spring Fling is that Friday. Sasuke glances over at Sakura who seems to be purposefully avoiding his gaze as she laughs a little too hard at a not-funny joke that Naruto made. She, for a split second, catches his gaze, but instead of flashing him a smile as she usually would, she glances away as quickly as she can. Sasuke finds this to probably mean she doesn't want him to get any ideas, and therefore he should not ask her to the dance. He hadn't intended on it, but he had thought maybe he would ask her if she was going, and if she said yes then maybe he would show up just for no reason, like at Ino's party. And he thinks that he probably kind of was hoping she would say yes because out of every recent new urge he's had, slow-dancing with Sakura is the one thing he thought maybe wasn't so out of reach.

_["I wanted to feel pretty for what I'm maybe going to do today."]_

He's suddenly uncharacteristically jealous of the idea that she might be planning to ask someone to go with her. This hypothetical man holds Sakura close to him in Sasuke's mind and it's enough to make his gut churn and his hands shake. Naruto walks over to him and Sasuke notes that Sakura has turned her attention to Neji, who she rarely speaks to without purpose and the jealousy rears its ugly head. So he wipes his hands on his jeans and turns to listen to Naruto, "What do you want?"

"That announcement reminded me, I overheard this morning before school that Karin wants to humiliate Sakura at the dance! I don't know what it is, but she really hates her because she 'stole you from her' or something stupid like that. Girls are so complicated," Naruto shrugs and rolls his eyes, "But anyway, I just wanted to give you the heads up. See if you can talk to Karin or something, make her feel less abandoned and maybe she'll rethink her stupid plans."

Sasuke, not one to usually be wary of rumours waves his friend off before contemplating his words. It couldn't hurt, right? He decides to speak to Karin for the first time in what has probably been months, and he almost can't remember how he used to behave around her.

"Hello, Karin. How have you been?"

Her eyes widen as she looks up from the nails she was filing, and for a second it seems as though she can't decide between being angry and being overjoyed, but it appears as though she gives him the benefit of the doubt and smiles.

"Um. Great," she adds a hair flip for good measure and makes sure she only gives him half of her attention, so she doesn't appear too interested in whatever he has to say, Sasuke notes, quite familiar with Karin's antics that have never seemed to change, "What's up?"

"Nothing. I just realized we haven't spoken in awhile," he says, and then realizes that was probably offensive and he thinks she probably cried for weeks when he abruptly stopped noticing her and instead went for the more interesting and lonely Sakura, when they had had some form of friendship once, "And I wanted to make it up to you."

She suddenly looks genuinely intrigued and she drops her nail file, "And how's that?"f

"Just tell me if you want something from me. I'll try and be a better friend to you than I have been. You name it and I'll do it," Sasuke says, thinking of Sakura and all she went through because he had been unfair to Karin.

_["Shh...I'm saving the world."]_

"Um...okay. I'll tell you if I think of something," she says, and then the bell rings and Sasuke feels like maybe he's done something right.

**-=Ino=-**

At the mentioning of a dance, Ino suddenly becomes very self-conscious. She realizes that for the first time she may go to a dance with no date. And somehow that idea terrifies her. And beyond that, she realizes that no one for the rest of her time as a teenager will ever dance with her again, so she goes to the one other person that she knows will by no chance have a date.

"Sai, will you hang out with me on Friday night?" she asks, "We can go to a movie or something."

He doesn't look up from his drawing, an extensive and awe-inspiring doodle, for several seconds, and just as Ino is becoming impatient, he glances up at her, "That would be fine. Were you not intending on attending the school dance?"

"I'm not really feeling it this time," Ino shrugs, disliking the way Sai's disinterested stare pierces through her all the time, but still always taking refuge in his blankness, "Bring a wad of cash, 'cause you're paying for me."

**-=Sasuke=-**

The moment Sasuke sits down at the lunch table, Sakura thrusts the mystery-bag from that morning in front of him, "Open it."

He sets down his lunch tray slowly before cautiously opening the bag. Inside is a Styrofoam take-out box, and when he opens it, he finds a slice of carrot cake and finds a note taped to the top.

"Somebunny wants you to go to the dance with them. If you carrot all, you'll say yes," Sasuke reads aloud, and then deadpans, "I don't get it."

"I think the internet is the greatest," Sakura says, "I used it at the library yesterday and it gave me all of these amazing ideas for how to ask you, and eventually I decided on this one."

Sasuke stares at her for a few seconds, trying to figure out if she's being sarcastic or not, because after all, this is Sakura and the fact that Sakura is generally so truthful in everything she says makes this is a little confusing, because Sasuke doesn't see how this idea could be brilliant at all.

"Go to the dance with me?" she asks, suddenly wild-eyed and apprehension radiates from her, "I dreamed last night that you had flown off to heaven without me and that I forgot myself. Something bad happened to me and then you came down from heaven and saved me and I cried on you and didn't believe it was you until we danced together, because I never had a slow dance, and then I woke up. So then I remembered Hinata talking about how Kurenai told her there was a Spring Fling coming up that was sort of a rush job that the seniors were planning at the last minute to fund their end of the year trip, and I realized I didn't want my dream to come true, so I want you to dance with me. I don't want you to disappear."

Sasuke stares at her for several moments, contemplating her proposal. Sakura's behaviour has been nervous and erratic and slightly overjoyed as of late and Sasuke decides that if this will make the girl happy (and secretly calm his inner desires) then he should accept, "I'll go to the dance with you, Sakura."

Sakura smiles brightly and Sasuke feels the desire inside him swell, "Thank you!"

---

When lunch ends, Karin meets Sasuke at the locker he and Sakura now share, though Sakura has gone off somewhere for the time being.

"I've decided that I want you to be my date to the dance, Sasuke," Karin states slyly, leaning against the locker next to him, "That's not so difficult to comply with, is it?"

Sasuke freezes up and tries to process and figure how to either let her down or work her into his plans, "Karin, I can't do that."

"What? Why the hell not? We're you just messing with me when you said you wanted to be friends again?" Karin's eyes tear up, "Go out with me tonight and I'll prove to you I won't be a bad date!"

"That would be...fine. But I've already promised to take someone else to the dance. You are only a few minutes too late," he explains, "However, I can take you on a date tonight."

"Fine," Karin smiles sweetly, "Pick me up at 7:00!"

_["I don't want you to disappear."]_

**-=Gaara=-**

Gaara's head is dizzy and full of confusion. He can hear whispering in the back of his mind, and everyone around him seems to be looking at him, leering at him, wishing him dead. He's about ready to snap when he sees Sakura walking out of the girl's restroom. _She will never hate me,_ Gaara thinks,_ like my mother, she loves me she will love me she will love me..._

"Sakura, go to the dance with me," he says, his voice lilting and smug and he feels good and confident and he knows there's no way Sakura could ever refuse him.

"That's very sweet Gaara, but I'm already going with Sasuke," Sakura says, an apologetic smile on her face. She brushes a lock of hair away from her face and Gaara's heart twists in his chest with an estranged form of resentment. His expression crumples and he shoves her against the wall. She lets out a surprised and frightened cry and eyes him discerningly.

"Why?" he smiles, feeling delightfully malicious as he grips her wrist tightly.

Sakura's feeling and thought seems to slip from her face and suddenly its like she's still there but the lights inside have gone out, so her voice comes out toneless, "What's wrong, Gaara?"

Her deadened face registers in his mind and he pulls himself off of her, holding his head in his hands. He turns back around and hits the wall as hard as he can, letting out a roar of frustration. Sakura doesn't even jump.

"Gaara, I think it would be best if you stepped away from Ms. Haruno," Kakashi's voice seems to rekindle a flicker of light inside of Sakura for a moment before it burns out, as Gaara throws himself away from her, growling again before taking off down the hall.

He takes refuge inside a temporarily abandoned classroom, letting out another roar as he throws a desk-chair across the room, and it crashes into the teacher's desk. Knick-knacks go flying off and clatter to the floor noisily, but the sound is drowned out as Gaara flips over another desk, and then falls to the floor, pulling his hair by the roots and letting out tearless, gurgling sobs.

[Mother. Mother. MOTHER. _help._]

**-=Hinata=-**

Seeing Kiba again after the incident is awkward and uncomfortable, especially due the fact that he won't look at her. After the mistake, Kiba seems to treat her like an ex-girlfriend that his mother made him treat kindly rather than a confusing ex-crush-still-friend thing. Shino still speaks to her regularly and treats her as though nothing has changed, not acknowledging the fact that their three-way bond is now Hinata and Shino and Shino and Kiba. However, when Hinata sees the two of them without her and the way Kiba purposefully doesn't look at her but Shino subtly tries to welcome her over to them with body language, she knows she is not forgotten.

"Hello, Shino. H-Hi, Kiba," she says almost inaudibly, "Um, I was going to, uh, go to the mall today...and I wanted to know if either of you w-wanted to come?"

Kiba looks at her, sort of ashamed and smiles a little, "You sure?"

"Uh huh," she nods and wrings her hands, "Let's g-get matching outfits for the dance."

"I thought you would be going with Naruto," Shino says, "Were you not planning on doing so?"

The mentioning of Naruto increases Kiba's shame and says, "Did you, uh, have a falling out or something?"

Hinata giggles a little, "We're still going together, b-but I didn't see why couldn't be accompanied b-by a few handsome men."

Kiba looks up at her and grins, "Well, if the lady demands it."

**-=Sasuke=-**

That night, Sasuke arrives at Karin's house at 7:00 pm, as promised. She's dressed prettily and possibly a bit scantily, but Sasuke doesn't notice and he never has. They go to some romantic comedy that Karin chooses that Sasuke barely pays attention to but instead glances at his watch every few minutes. Karin snuggles against his arm, claiming to be cold when he looks at her inquisitively, and because he's used to Sakura doing things like that he doesn't put anymore thought into it.

Afterwards, they go to a new 50's diner across the street from the theatre, and Sasuke thinks this will probably be the difficult part of the date. The part where he's expected to make conversation and be friendly when really he's quite unused to that.

"So...what have you been up to?" Sasuke asks, looking at the old-fashion jukebox behind her rather than at actually at her.

"I've been hanging out with Kin's group, lately. They've been really nice to me since Ami left the school, so I've been pretty good. We usually hang out at Bart's Pizza Place down on 5th Street, if you ever wanna drop by," she says giddily, practically bouncing in her seat, "Actually, there was this one time when Zaku tricked the store owner into giving us two free pizzas because he 'found a hairball' in his, which was totally gross, but he put it there himself really, and yeah. It was great. You had to be there."

Sasuke nods at the appropriate times, genuinely trying to appear interested in Karin's prattle, and occasionally gives his own input when he has something to say, but overall finds her to be quite boring and begins to realize why he hadn't notice when their communication had been cut off.

"So...who did you say you were taking to the dance?" Karin asked, finally deeming it an appropriate time to quit beating around the bush. She glances up at him from beneath her eyelashes, as if trying to use her allure to get him to admit there had been no girl and that he really did want to have her accompany him.

"Sakura. She asked me only a couple of minutes before you, actually. She brought me carrot cake."

Karin eyebrows crinkle and her expression turns into a pout, "You know, I woulda made you carrot cake, too! I just thought that you didn't like sweets!"

Sasuke considers that and decides that that is quite true and wonders if Sakura hadn't noticed or if she was just being facetious this morning with the entire "Somebunny" fiasco.

_["I forgot myself."]_

"I don't like sweets," he nods, "It was a nice gesture, though."

Karin lets out a huff and crosses her arms, "She's got you wrapped around her little finger. What does she have that I don't?"

"Timing," he says, but thinks _tact, soul, topics of interest_.

When all is done, Sasuke pays the bill and drops Karin off at her home where she makes one last attempt at wooing him, "Even if you can't take me to the dance on Friday, will you at least save the couples dance for me? I won't add any meaning to it, I swear! I've just always wanted to share that with you, Sasuke..."

Sasuke almost agrees but thinks of a lonely Sakura, standing in the gym by herself with all of her friends paired up and shakes his head, "You know I can't do that, Karin. I'm sorry, but I can't return your feelings."

"It's because of her, isn't it?" she asks, the attitude suddenly back and any semblance of pleading is gone, "God, Sasuke. If you love her just say it! Stop misleading everyone and giving them hope! And if you don't love her then you're just an all-around dick!"

Karin stomps up the hill to her house and slams the door.

---

_**Disclaimer: I do not own "New Terrain" by Mew or Naruto.**_

_**A/N: I realize it appears cut short, but that's because the chapter was going to be around 7,000 words if I didn't cut it, so I decided to make it into two parts for easier reading. I'm not really happy with anything I've written lately, but I mostly have the rest of the story written and I just have to fix it up a little. And if you never check my profile, I just realized that many of you don't know that I'm leaving fanfiction and therefore, this is my last story. If you want to read my original works then follow the link on my profile to my fictionpress. Love you guys!**_

**_The next chapter will be up tomorrow!_**

_**Please review, and give a thanks to my lovely beta, Ira Feye!**_

_**-MT**_


	25. A Fairy Tale Part Two

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter 25: A Fairy Tale (Part Two)**_

_Should have stayed home in bed  
__when the walls are out of focus  
__Nervous instead  
__and I wish that I could save you  
__each time_

_- "Nervous (Bonus Track)" by Mew_

* * *

**-=Ino=-**

It's like a movie scene.

The evening of the Spring Fling seems like its going through fast forward, the girls happily dressing up and giggling and doing each other's make-up while Ino watches longingly from the doorway. She lets Sakura borrow the dress she was saving for herself for prom, as she was expecting to still have a long line of junior or senior boys willing to take her to in exchange for something else she would have willingly offered before, but come May, Ino knows she'll be around five or six months pregnant (that's what she gets for buying birth control pills from the girls at school -- she only wonders when they'd started to turn on her and give her faulty batches) and there's no line now.

Both of the girls look gorgeous, like princesses only without the ridiculous poof-skirts. She herself is dressed in jeans and a baggy shirt she stole from her dad's closet for her date with Sai. She admires the unfamiliar silken scarf that Sakura wears that the girl touches with tender appreciation, something that appears she's owned for a long time, though Ino has never seen it before. And she realizes that a few months ago that scarf would have been the kind of thing Ino would have taken from her and then she realizes why she knows so little about her sister, and she understands why she is alone while each of these girls is so dearly loved.

"Sakura," Ino says, breaking the girls' conversation, "Can I talk to you?"

Hinata stares at the blonde, and for the first time, Ino notices how pretty the girl's eyes are. But Sakura walks up to her and breaks their connection. Hinata pretends to busy herself with fixing the hem of her dress as to not intrude.

Ino pulls Sakura into the hallway, "Um. I'm sorry."

"For what, Ino?" Sakura cocks her head a little, a small smile on her prettily made-up face. For a second her sweaty face, bruised and crying, fills Ino's mind and she feels sick.

"Um... I think I love you. And I'm glad you're my sister. And I want you to forgive me," she says. The words come out differently and a bit more rushed than she intended, but she feels like a tiny weight has been removed from her shoulders.

"Ino..." Sakura starts, looking away, "A lot...has happened."

Ino's heart drops in her chest and for a second they're both little girls, she a plump, curly-haired doll with no purpose and Sakura a gangly, carefree child who likes to dance on her daddy's shoes. But instead of Sakura, standing there wide eyed and asking for acceptance, it's Ino, and their childhood has flashed by so fast, Ino realizes, and it's dizzying.

"How do you do it?" Ino asks, suddenly starry-eyed and slightly pleading, "You keep living even though everything is horrible."

Sakura smiles at her, eyes crinkling and caring and just what Ino thinks she needs, "I forgave you a long time ago, Ino...you've changed...so much..."

Just before returning to her friend, Sakura says, "...I looked it up yesterday, and your baby should be able to hear your voice either already or pretty soon..."

Ino looks down at the tiny bud of her belly and rubs it softly, "Is that true, baby? Can you hear me?"

The returning silence is comforting.

**-=Sasuke=-**

The dance started almost an hour ago by the time Sasuke shows up. Even so, spotting Sakura on the dance floor isn't difficult. She's the only one in the room with a pink head of hair (besides Tayuya, but Sasuke would never get the two of them confused), and also the most amazing. He runs up to her, sliding in between people crowding the area, and putting a tentative hand on her back.

"Took you long enough," Kiba says, jokingly, "Way to be a sucky date."

Sasuke ignores him and instead looks directly into Sakura's eyes, "Sorry I'm late. First Itachi caught the stove on fire and then the car wouldn't start."

She smiles a little and nods and takes his hand, hers small and warm and his large and cool and a little bit damp, and then everything is complete. Because while just being close to her is better than any needle-candy fire or a stolen puff from Itachi's cigarette that could leave his mind spinning and his chest tight but unburdened, seeing her is so normal that he just couldn't imagine being without her. It's not an addictive love. It's something he thinks is much healthier.

With Sakura, he doesn't need her to be there for him in any way more than her presence and by her simply being Sakura. He just wants to be there for her. He wants to be her Guardian Angel and love her and protect her so that she doesn't need to be flown away, because with him around life would be enough, even without the promise of angel's wings. Because as long as she's around he has some sort of incentive to believe that maybe the world isn't as jacked-up as he once thought it was.

**-=Sakura=-**

I'd never had a

slow dance, and with

this feeling of something about to happen like

the rise before the climax

it's a nice, warm feeling to cling to.

Sasuke has his head lowered

next to mine and I can feel his

breath

soft

on my clavicle.

His hands rest on my hips

thumbs tracing absent-minded patterns

in my dress.

We swing gently,

in time, in tempo, in rhythm and

for the first time in my life everything seems so completely

in sync

with everything else and

I want him to kiss me.

"Sakura, I..." he mumbles, his nose slightly brushing my cheek, his

mouth seeking mine and

just before they touch

Naruto rips us apart, shouting.

It takes my mind several seconds of catching up because all I can hear in my head is the sound of my own voice shouting,

_**"HE WAS GOING TO KISS YOU!"**_

before I suddenly understand that

"Gaara is trying to fucking kill himself!"

**-=Gaara=-**

_(i'm going to kill you)_

"Mother! Get him out of my head!"

Naruto approaches him tentatively, outstretching her hand slowly towards him, "Gaara, put down the knife..."

"No, no, no! Get away from me!" He swipes the weapon haphazardly through the air, and Naruto jerks his hand backwards, the blade just barely nicking his arm. Naruto backs away, pressing a hand over his wound.

_(you're going to die little boy and it will be by my hands)_

"_Mother!"_ Gaara wails, and then turns the knife and plunges it into his own body, letting out a groaning cry and a shudder before wrenching it back out, blood splattering across the bathroom tile. Sakura's terrified screams cause him to drop the blade on the floor in disoriented fright. He rubs at his face and head violently, smearing red across his cheeks and temples as his body seizes. Sakura's wails and Naruto's curses filling the room.

_(because its your fault she's dead and I __hate__ you)_

Tears oozing down her face and choking sobs erupting from her body, Sakura crawls up to Gaara, wrapping her arms around him while Naruto runs to find a phone. Sasuke's looming form looks lost and confused.

"Shh, Gaara, it's okay. I'm here. Mother is going to make it all okay," her voice cracks on the last syllable and she chokes on her tears, Gaara's blood filling her hands and spilling down her arms, "He can't touch you while I've got you."

He murmurs something under his breath, his eyes half lidded and rolling back into his head, his body trembling and leaking red-black. Sakura wipes her nose and cheeks to remove the wetness that still pours steadily, painting her own face to match Gaara's, and moves her ear to his mouth.

"What's that, Gaara?"

"...feel loved. I want to feel loved. I want to feel loved. I want to feel..."

She runs her bloodied hand through his hair and kisses the tattoo on his forehead, more tears streaming down red cheeks, making it appear as though she is crying bloody tears, "You're loved, Gaara. You're loved."

**-=Sakura=-**

Everything moves by in unclear

faded blurs

and people keep talking,

shouting,

whispering but

I want it to stop I want it to stop I-

I'm so confused and where is Gaara?

Is he dead did he die he's gone isn't he oh no oh no and-

_**breathe Forgetting how to breathe Forgetting...BREATHE!**_

I wonder if Ino's having a good time with Sai because I was worried and-

Sasuke where are you, are you with Gaara oh god is Gaara dead and are you, I can't remember-

I hope Hinata's and Naruto's night together wasn't ruined because Hinata looks so pretty in her dress, I wish I looked as pretty as she does and-

_**God damn it all, just breathe!**_

It's so cold it's so hot and I can't stop shaking and...

"Sakura. Sakura!"

---

Sasuke holds her upper arm in one hand and brushes her blood-sticky cheek with the other, whispering words to her that don't make sense, and every one of his movements whirrs in front of her and she thinks she might vomit. She wants her mother, she wants to crawl back into the womb and never have been born because everything has stopped making sense and she can't even remember if it ever did.

"Sakura, it's okay, Gaara's okay, you're okay," his voice breaks through the fog for a moment, but her ears are still thick with cotton and spots dance in front of her eyes and for a second she can't remember how to stand and she falls and doesn't even feel the pain of falling awkwardly on her leg. Sasuke is gently patting her cheeks and Naruto is trying to hand her a cup of water and Hinata is staring off into the distance, wrapping her arms around her middle and Sakura knows she's thinking of her child and the blood_bloodblood_y mess and even then she only saw Gaara's sickly, mutilated body as they loaded it onto the stretcher. But Sakura is _covered in it._

"He was okay! He...coming to school and normal! ...and sitting with us at lunch and happy until now, so how could I have known? But I should have, he was upset --I should have known because...he was right there and I should have known, I should have known, I should have..." Sakura words come out in choppy half-sentences and Sasuke smoothes her hair behind her ears but has to go.

"I'm going to go check on the situation and I'm going to leave you with Naruto and Hinata, okay? You're going to be fine, and I'll see the ambulance off so that I see that Gaara is okay with my own eyes, and then we'll know, okay? And then you won't have to worry about anything," Sasuke says, looking down at her with worried eyes for one last time before running off to the bulky white vehicle that just makes Sakura think of her mother and her own almost-death.

"We're going to get you cleaned up, okay, Sakura?" Hinata whispers to her, helping the much taller girl up, Naruto throwing the pink-haired girl's arm over his shoulders.

_**It'll be alright and then you can breathe again but things aren't alright and they're wrong and everything is dead...**_

---

When Sakura sees herself in the mirror, she looks almost okay. The blood stains on her dress are hidden by Sasuke's bulky academics jacket and her face and hands and arms are washed besides the red-brown still encrusted beneath her nails. She looks pallid and sickly but the spots in her vision are gone and she can almost breathe again but she cannot think because that hurts a little too much.

_**Dead dead dead dead dead deadeadeadead**_

The three of them walk down the halls, quiet and somber, ready to get their things and go home, but guarding the entrance to the gym is Karin.

"This is all YOUR FAULT!" she screams, her hair frazzled and mascara oozing down her face in black ink smears. Sakura hears the words but they don't process and all she can do is stare at the miserable girl.

_**deadeadeadead**_

"Listen, Karin-" Naruto starts, but is cut-off by a large hand clamping down on his shoulder, "Hey! What do you think you're do-"

Kidoumaru wrenches Naruto off of Hinata, throwing him aside and giving Hinata a hefty shove into Zaku's awaiting arms.

Sakura reaches out a hand to grab Kidoumaru's arm, but is quickly restrained by Karin who grabs her by the crooks of her elbows from behind. She lets out a grunt and tries to shake the girl off of her, but Karin holds her struggling form so tightly it hurts.

"What are you doing? Bastard!" Naruto shouts and scrambles to his feet to go to Hinata, but Kidoumaru turns and punches Naruto directly in the gut. Both Hinata and Sakura let out a cry in protest as he chokes and falls to his knees with a wheeze. His eyes go out of focus as Zaku throws Hinata against a wall and hits her across the side of the face. Sakura shrieks and tries to pull away from Karin, trying to stomp on the inside of the girl's foot as she's been taught to do, but Karin side-steps it and throws Sakura down, pulling her back up by a chunk of her hair and slamming her head against the tile floor. Her vision goes in and out of focus and she almost wants to cry but she can't seem to remember how.

_**run away now they're all dead and gone and runaway**_

Naruto emits a loud growl as he stands and barrels into Kidoumaru, who grabs the smaller boy and throws him down against the water fountain near Sakura. She watches as he quickly speed-dials a number, but Kidoumaru grabs his shoulder and pulls him up, slamming him down on the floor, causing his phone to fall and slide away from him. Naruto crawls backwards and gets up shakily, and then it's all kidney jabs and blows to face.

Karin grabs Sakura by the collar of her jacket and drags her down the hallway, the pink-haired girl's pretty high heels getting lost somewhere during the trek, "I've got personal business with you, bitch. The others just wanna mess around with Naruto because he owes them. They're real sweeties so they let me have you."

Karin kneels down by the girl who is sprawled on the ground, dress hitched up and exposing her underwear, "Look at you. You're just a pretty little whore, aren't you?" She stands up and kicks Sakura brazenly in the side. The pink-haired girl lets out gasping wheezes and choked sobs, trying to lift her hands to defend herself but is too exhausted and cloudy-minded to think of anything but the blood and Gaara, Gaara, Gaara...

She manages to grab Karin's foot and tug the girl down on top of her, letting out another gasping cough. She catches the girl's cheek as she claws blindly with her still blood encrusted fingernails and leaves the girl shrieking and screaming angrily on the floor. She takes the tiny delay in beating to raise herself to a staggering run and stumbles down the hall.

Sasuke.

_**Save me.**_

**-=Sasuke=-**

As the ambulance finally disappears down the freeway, Sasuke's phone vibrates in his pocket. He lets out a heavy sigh before opening it.

"Naruto?"

He listens for the blonde's voice, and at first all he can hear over the sound of the heavy rain is static, but after a few moments longer he realizes someone is screaming. He starts running, shoving past every person in his way, all of the clueless dance attendees. Finally, what seems like ages later, he makes it to the end of the gym corridor where the druggies usually hang out, and an ever-growing crowd has gathered. He barrels through and closes his phone with a snap.

_["I feel safe here."]_

"Sasuke!" Naruto shouts at him with a gored face, his hair tousled and his forehead down to his neck bloodied, his nose looking smashed into his skull, "Help Hinata!"

Sasuke grabs Zaku by the shoulder and tears him away from Hinata, who if possible, looks even worse than Naruto, gasping loudly, her eyes clouded over. Unadulterated anger sends a rush through Sasuke's veins and he tosses Zaku to the floor, straddling him and punching him in the face repeatedly, blood spattering across the floor in both directions, swearing he will look worse than Hinata and Naruto when he's finished with him.

_["Nothing can touch us here."]_

A tear-laced voice drowned out by the pounding of his blood in his head shouts, _"Sasuke! Stop it! Stop it! You're going to kill him!"_

Someone grabs his arm, and in the heat of his anger, he jerks away and strikes his attacker across the face. She falls down to the floor with a cry. Pink. Pink. Red.

_["They look like they're reaching for each other."]_

She looks up at him through a curtain of blood-plastered petal-pink hair and sobs.

Sasuke feels suddenly sick to his stomach, and his entire body goes numb. He wants to vomit. He just hurt _Sakura_--

And the world is spinning and and flashes of Sakura feeling his wings for the first time and he can only hear false words projected from her unmoving mouth, _What is wrong with you? You said you'd protect me. Why are you turning into a monster?_

_["You don't have to protect me. I just want to be friends."]_

Zaku, beneath him, long forgotten, takes his stillness as a chance to shove Sasuke off of him. He grabs him by the shirt and tries to throw him into a wall, but he dodges under the boys arm and-

His shirt rips, buttons popping and making tiny _pings_ on the floor.

There is a collective gasp through everyone watching, and Zaku stumbles backwards, tripping over his own feet, "What the fuck _are__ you?_"

Then, Karin is jerked by the arm away from Hinata, Zaku pushed far away from Sasuke, sending him sprawling, and Kidoumaru is grabbed by the collar and thrown in to the throng of watchers.

"Break it up!" Kabuto's voice booms, standing over everyone with a smirk, "Karin, Zaku, Kidoumaru, Hinata, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke...to the principal! Now!"

Then there is no sound but Hinata's choking and gasping. Sasuke watches her writhe and her bloodied eyes widen. Kabuto walks over to where the blue-haired girl is curled in a ball, and crouches before her, "I'm sorry I didn't get here sooner."

_(I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm so sorry)_

_---_

"So you're the angel boy, huh?" Principal Tsunade rests her chin on her fist, "The one all the newspapers always used to print about. It's funny, Kakashi assured me you were a good, calm kid. I know you, Uchiha, you've come through here to run errands for him on countless occasions. So why the change of heart? I understand that you might have been in some sort of shock due to the events surrounding Gaara, but you pulverized Zaku and hit Haruno, which is inexcusable."

_(You. Hit. Her.)_

"Hitting Sakura was an accident."

"Ah, yes, but that's what you risk when you've gone out of control, isn't it, Uchiha? Injuring an innocent person, that is."

_[Why are you turning into a monster?]_

"Hitting Sakura...was an accident."

"Yes, you've already said that. Now, I want to know what you were doing there in that hallway-"

Sasuke throws the chair against the desk, sending reverberations through the wood as various knickknacks and papers fall. He grabs at his hair and tugs at the roots, "It was..."

_[What is wrong with you?]_

He walks out, ignoring Tsunade's shouts of protest, refusing to meet Sakura's eyes as he passes by her.

_[What is __**wrong**__ with you?]_

_**

* * *

**_

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or 'Nervous' by Mew. If you listen to the songs I put up top, then I'd recommended YouTube-ing it because it's a bonus track you get from playing "New Terrain" backwards.**_

_**A/N: And there's part 2. The response for the last chapter was kind of...lacking. I only got one review (Thank you Inferno Phoenyx!), which is kind of disappointing, since I used to get close to thirty, though I supposed its my own fault for having so much time pass between updates. But I would greatly appreciate it if you guys would tell me what you think.**_

_**So please review and give a thank you to my beta, Ira Feye, who has stuck with me for so long despite my laziness!**_

_**-MT**_


	26. Child

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Chapter 26: Child**_

_No meaning, no meaning  
Don't need your poison, me  
I'll take the melancholy  
And everybody here's on..._

_- "Is Everybody Here on Drugs?" by Catatonia_

* * *

Two weeks have passed and everyone who was involved in the massive fight at the school dance is no longer suspended. Everything is strange and unsettling and there's only one sure thing and that is...

Sasuke is gone.

No one knows where he went, but he and his brother are gone without a trace.

**-=Ino=-**

Wringing hands, pretzel breath, why did she eat so many pretzels? Shivering, cold, cold, cold, no, nervous, what will happen? Abandonment, hatred, disappointment...

Ino walks up beside the sofa her father has sunken into. He doesn't seem to be the least bit ashamed that he's watching a program with two young women heatedly making out when his young daughter is standing right nearby, but then again, Ino thinks, who should be more ashamed here? The nothing-man who lost his wife or the not-so-innocent teenage girl with a fatherless baby inside her, brought on by her own mistakes?

She stands there for a few more moments, waiting for her father to notice or acknowledge her presence, but he doesn't; he just remains transfixed on the television with glazed yellow eyes, empty and nearly-empty beer cans littering the couch and the floor around him, some oozing their fattening carb-filled fluid onto the carpet.

Ino clears her throat, "Um...Daddy?"

He glances at her from the corner of his eye for a few seconds before looking back at the screen, "What do you want?"

"I need you to look at me."

"I'm lookin'."

"No, you're not! Look at me, God damn it!" Ino cries, stomping her foot, grabbing the remote and shutting off the TV's power. It flashes white with a crackle and turns black.

The aging man thins his chapped lips in agitation, but doesn't say anything. He stares at his daughter, his gaze lacking any depth or recognition. It makes Ino squirm, comparing this man to the father who loved her mother very much, and could almost love her but not quite.

"Are you listening?" he nods in reply, "Good. I have a confession to make. I've been lying. For a long time. For a really long time, actually. Remember when Sakura broke in to the IPC teacher's car? And when Sakura messed up the kitchen at school? And when she stole fifty bucks from mom's purse? And spilled juice on the radio? And pulled the fire alarm and got us expelled and had birth control pills and threw a wild party and snuck into principal Tsunade's office?"

She huffs, her voice having risen in speed and volume and distress, and she takes in a big gulp of air to try to calm herself down. She wants to cry. But she can't. Because she's not daddy's little girl anymore, and maybe Ino the Unbreakable never was.

"Yes."

"Those were...me. I broke into the car, and messed up the kitchen, and stole the money and not even only that one time, and I spilled juice on the radio, and convinced Sakura to pull the fire alarm, and those were my birth-control pills and that was my party, and I told Sakura I hated her and made her sneak into the principal's office to steal Tsunade's goddamned phone! And you know what? I did so much more! I stole the coat Uchiha Sasuke gave her, and took her locker so I could share it with him, and you know what, Dad? I cheated on my boyfriend Shikamaru that you didn't even know I _had_, and he found out, and I'm pregnant and its not even his baby and now he's left me and everyone hates me except for this stupid, stupid kid named Sai who can't even feel anything!"

Mr. Haruno blinks long and hard and scratches at his stomach. He shifts on the sofa, causing a few cans to clunk against each other and after thinking for a moment he looks back at Ino.

"Okay. What do you need?"

Ino starts to cry, laughing through her tears.

Maybe she can still be her daddy's little girl, pregnant or not.

**-=Hinata=-**

Hinata can finally return to school again. She looks a lot like Sakura did after her car wreck, though both her eyes are reddish yellow and bruised and her lips are split, and she's lucky enough not to have a broken arm or something worse. She needs to carry an inhaler with her again and take two pills three times a day, but she escaped surgery by a hairsbreadth and that's good enough for her.

When she sees Sakura again, she can't help but wince. The girl has stitches from her brow to below her cheek-bone, inflicted by the boy she loves _(and loves her)_ and she seems completely broken over it. Sasuke is gone, and somehow Hinata can't help but think him a coward, leaving everyone behind just because of a secret he didn't want to be revealed and an accidental punch thrown in Sakura's direction.

"Y-You can't give your whole h-heart to a boy," Hinata says to the girl with a sad smile, linking her arm around the girl's, hoping the gesture is somehow comforting.

"Why not?" Sakura asks, the tone of her voice unrecognizable, "You can't just wait for him to give his heart to you."

They enter the Speech classroom. It seems so empty without Gaara.

**-=Ino=-**

"So I took your advice, and I finally told my dad about my pregnancy," Ino says, trading out her books while Sai waits for his chance to do the same.

"Your father is blind if he couldn't already tell."

"He's not exactly around a lot. And when he is, I think I cover myself up pretty well. Are you telling me I look fat?"

"I'm curious as to why you took that advice but decided against apologizing to your ex-boyfriend," Sai says, ignoring her question and shifts the weight of his books between arms, no curiosity lining his voice despite his claim. Ino zips up her backpack and steps away from the locker to give Sai access to it and throws her bag over her shoulder.

"I didn't actually put any merit into anything you said until recently. And now I think it's probably too late. What does Shikamaru care what happens to his pregnant ex-girlfriend? It's not his baby, I cheated on him, and we broke up months ago. Why would he want anything to do with me?" She rolls her eyes and strokes her ponytail subconsciously.

"I always thought people appreciate apologies, late or not," Sai shrugs, giving her a blank smile before shutting the locker with a firm shove and he spins the dial on the lock, resetting it.

"Okay. I think maybe I'll do it. But you're still a lunatic. I'll meet you at the usual spot when I'm done, if I still have time."

Ino turns and walks away, heading towards the courtyard. Most of the picnic tables are overcrowded, and the shady spots beneath the trees are all taken, but none by Shikamaru. A few of the people she used to sit with before everything that happened stare at her with curious expressions, and she rubs her hand over her swollen abdomen absent-mindedly. She walks past the football field where several people litter the bleachers, laughing and shouting.

There's another courtyard on this side of the building. Ino finally finds Shikamaru at a table with a pink-haired girl she vaguely remembers getting in a cat-fight with simply because her appearance reminded her of her sister when she had been in a bad mood, along with Karin and a few guys she's fairly certain she slept with at one point or another. And then she realizes exactly how Shikamaru found out about her little hobby, and she feels a little hollow.

"Shikamaru," her mouth feels like sandpaper, and her heart beats like a drum in her chest, and her fleeting thought that somehow makes its way through her murky mind is that all of this stress is bad for the baby...

"Well if it isn't the pregnant bitch," Tayuya, whose name Ino suddenly remembers, says.

Ino offers the girl a weak smile, and forces out, "Shikamaru, could I please speak to you?"

He looks uncomfortable as he fumbles with the package of cigarettes in his pocket before finally nodding and following her around the corner of the building. He watches her suspiciously as he pulls out one of his cigarettes and lights it up, taking a drag from it.

"Could you put that out, damn it? I'm pregnant!" she snaps at him, and immediately regrets it when she sees his astonished look, "Sorry..."

Regardless, he drops the health-hazard into the grass and crushes it with his work boots that she thinks probably aren't used for anything close to working.

"What'd you want to tell me, Ino?" he asks, slouching against the brick wall, once again sticking his hand in his pocket to fiddle with the pack. And she thinks of how that hand never touched her.

"Those things will kill you, you know," she whispers, before shaking her head, "But that's not what I wanted to say. I wanted to tell you that I fucked up big time, and I'm sorry. I don't have any excuses. I have an infant growing inside me, so it's a little too late for any of those, I guess. But yeah. I'm sorry."

He gives her half a smile with no real glee in it, "Any clue who the father is?"

She returns the half-hearted gesture, "No. I prefer it that way. No obligation towards letting whoever it is know."

"I see," he says, shrugging, "Well, I gotta finish up helping Sakon with his Physics. So I'll be seeing you around, I guess." He begins to walk away, lighting up another cigarette on his way back.

"Those things really will kill you, you know!" she calls after him, her voice wavering as she cradles her belly. He vaguely waves a hand at her in dismissal and turns the corner. She stands alone, sniffling for a minute, the remaining residue of smoke in the air burning her nose before Sai appears beside her, his phony smile nowhere to be seen.

"You should eat. A mother should eat more than she would usually to properly nourish her child and herself during pregnancy."

Ino nods to herself wearily, "Yeah...okay."

**-=Sakura=-**

_**He left. What are you going to do now?**_

Sakura doesn't know quite what to do with herself. Sasuke's been gone before, but that was different. She knew he would be back. Now she isn't so sure. Naruto occasionally blathers on about how Sasuke will most definitely return, but Sakura thinks he's trying to convince himself rather than reassure her.

"Naruto, I wanted to ask you something."

Naruto's nose is still purple-red-green and his face still looks horribly maimed (as well as the rest of his body, she's sure since hers is still covered in the remnants of blotchy bruises as well), and he's barely recognizable.

"Of course, Sakura," he says a little too cheerily, probably quite afraid of breaking her.

She bites her lip, not knowing how to begin, "On...that night...Karin said that the reason they jumped us was because...you owed their group something. And I was wondering what that was."

Naruto's mouth falls open, his face draining of color. He immediately snaps his mouth shut and looks away. He turns around and stubs his toe in the grass for a second, "Yeah. Yeah, it's my fault. Is that what you wanted to hear? It's my fault that you and Hinata got hit and I don't even deserve to ever speak to her again. I fucked up, Sakura. I fucked up bad."

Sakura reaches out and touches his arm, "Naruto, I just want you to tell me what's going on. What do you owe them? I'm worried."

Naruto kicks a small rock and it goes flying away, hitting a tree and disappearing into the grass. He turns back around to face her but can't meet her eyes until the last second, "Fuck. Gaara wasn't the only one using, okay? I owed them money for drugs and I couldn't pay them back. I don't know how I'm going to do it, Sakura! I don't have that kind of money, even with my job. I live on my own, okay? I have no parents and when I'm home alone the house just gets so quiet and I can't take it so I use..."

Sakura's eyes begin to tear up, "Naruto...Hinata will forgive you...but you have to quit using. It's bad for you and it's bad for her for you to be doing it and if you want to make it up to her, you're going to have to. Or you could get killed. Just explain what's going on to her and I'm sure she'll understand. She loves you a lot."

Naruto buries his face in his hands, "I don't deserve her forgiveness."

"You will."

**-=Hinata=-**

After the bell rings, Hinata takes in a deep, shuddering breath. She steps towards Kabuto's desk tentatively.

"You wanted to speak with me?" her voice comes out uncharacteristically high and squeaky and she can't help but mentally berate herself. _I cannot show fear. I cannot show fear. I cannot show fear._ A mantra in her head.

"Yes," he says, and then goes silent. The door clicks shut as the last student leaves and only then does he continue, "I wanted to apologize."

"Um...f-for what?" she asks, looking at the floor and imagining she's anywhere else. With Naruto maybe. She imagines he's standing right behind her, his hand on her shoulder, comforting and ready to protect.

"For...what happened. For what I did. You know what I'm talking about, I think. I can't express how completely utterly sorry I am. I should die for what I did to you," he says, pushing his glasses higher up on the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry for the trouble I caused and...well...you know."

Hinata looks up at him, her entire body shaking, her eyes clouding with water and lips trembling, "You g-got me pregnant. I lost the baby, but I would have n-named her Mi. It means _beautiful_."

Kabuto's eyes are wide and far away and remorseful and his words come out slowly when he says, "I wish I could have met her."

"Yes. Me too."

**-=Sakura=-**

Gaara sits at a table,

waiting for us when we arrive but

he's dazed and sedated and it takes him a minute or so

to even realize that we're

here

or even that he himself

is here.

His lips part slowly

and he speaks sluggishly,

his words

slurring as he whispers,

"Mother.

Mother, who...is...this?"

For a moment I think he's

talking about the orderly but

it soon becomes clear that he is talking about

Kankurou

and as much as this hurts me,

I'm sure it hurts Kankurou

even deeper.

_**What is family, anyway?**_

By the time I

answer

he seems to have forgotten his question and I

think that maybe

I'll cry but

Kankurou's unwavering presence beside me

keeps me strong enough

_**You're numb. Sasuke is gone and you're numb,**_

and some how

we make it through.

We ask him questions

about friends he's made and

daily activites but

Gaara can only manage vague,

short answers

that he doesn't seem to be sure of.

_**Who is ever sure of anything? You?**_

"It's

just at the beginning,"

the superintendent

assures us repeatedly,

"Until his body is

completely healed. We

don't want him getting upset and

ripping open the stitches."

_**Like they care anything for him.**_

When we leave Gaara behind,

the orderly

wheels him away and

Gaara doesn't even lift his head to say goodbye, he

just sort of accepts that

now its time to go and

time to disappear into that dark

drug-induced

slumber.

Kankurou leaves me off at home

and

even though its after 11:00 I

call Hinata anyway.

"No one was beating Gaara, Hinata.

The person he's been

claiming

to beat him has been

dead

for years and...

His uncle...

Gaara's uncle tried to

kill him when he was

young-"

_**So very, very young...**_

"-and Gaara stabbed him to

death.

He's been doing this to himself.

All

this

time."

**

* * *

**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or "Is Everybody Here on Drugs?" by Catatonia. Those belong to their respective owners, blah blah blah.**_

_**A/N: I'm sorry if I made it seem like I was threatening to discontinue the story from lack of reviews at the end of the last chapter, you guys. I totally didn't mean to make it sound like that. I was just sorta wonderin' if people were still reading, and you definitely were, based on the response I got. Thank you so much for your continued encouragement! You guys really are amazing. There's only one chapter left now, so get ready!**_

_**Please review, and give a big thank you to Ira Feye for beta-ing!**_

_**-MT**_


	27. Sakura's Interlude

_**Somebody  
by. Misery's-Toll  
Chapter 27: Sakura's Interlude **_

_So this is your fate, to drive 'til you find that one desert's dust is another man's sky and the clouds he admires are crushed by your tires, as you wish you could share a similar desire, to see some small light in the distance (a horizon held in place by a faith you thought was lost) to lead you away._

_- "Some Curious and Beautiful Maps" by The Silent Type_

_

* * *

_

**Somebody -** 1. _Noun._ A person unknown or uncertain; a person indeterminate; some person.  
2. _Noun. _A person of consideration or importance.

* * *

She grew up funny.

She was born into a family where the parents loved each other more than her. She loved her parents too much. Maybe sometimes it hurt a little, when the light was off and she didn't have anyone to go to when the nightmares were bad and her mother and father were enjoying a glass of wine and maybe each other a little too much.

But she was schizophrenic. And maybe that was her downfall. Hallucinations and hearing voices that weren't real. And no parent wants to find that their child was born less than perfect.

Maybe unconditional love is a little too hard to find.

_**One.**_

Sakura is four.

She's like a little mirror of mommy, only with eyes too huge and a forehead too large. But daddy looks at her kindly and calls her an angel because she is her mommy's daughter, so of course she will grow into her forehead and glassy eyes that are maybe a little too green.

She dances around the room in gauzy dresses mommy sews for her, standing on daddy's feet, her tiny pale hands engulfed by his huge tan ones, and she thinks he must be a superhero when he lifts her into the air and sets her on his shoulders, because she's his little girl and he'd do anything for her.

_**Two.**_

Sakura is five.

It's her first day of school, and she wears another gauzy white dress mommy made for her because that's what angels wear, and she has her slender pale fingers wrapped firmly around her brand-new lunchbox, because she doesn't want to lose it.

She enters the classroom with a huge smile on her face; she wants to make many new friends to make mommy and daddy proud. During recess the students make fun of her and tell her that her forehead is big and ugly, and that her pink hair makes her a freak. They throw mud at her dress, and she wonders why anyone would do that to an angel.

She walks home to an empty house where she makes her own lunch and her own dinner until mommy and daddy come home to her again and they dance and laugh together in their little house on the beach.

_**Three.**_

Sakura is seven.

She is still ignored at school, but she's friends with Ino, the little girl at mommy's work, and that's enough.

Sakura doesn't get to dance on daddy's feet, but she gets to sit and watch him pay bills and shine his shoes, and even though that's not as much fun, she likes spending time with daddy so she doesn't complain.

Mommy is gone until late at night, working at the Yamanaka house, and Sakura often doesn't see her because she leaves early and returns late. But sometimes Sakura finds a newly-made dress on her bed, and a card that says '_Angel.'_

_**Four.**_

Sakura is eight.

Sakura's forehead and eyes are still big, and she's lanky and ropey – nothing like mommy. Her skin isn't just pale, it's nearly translucent, and she has hollow circles under her eyes that never seem to go away. Her daddy doesn't kiss her on the forehead anymore, or pick her up and spin her around so she can fly, or call her angel. He doesn't let her sit and watch him pay bills or shine his shoes anymore because he's a busy man and she distracts him.

Sakura's mommy doesn't make her dresses anymore because she's ruined so many and she thinks that the little girl doesn't want them because she doesn't know about the torment the little girl goes through. So Sakura makes her own breakfast and lunch and dinner, and wears clothes that don't match anything that mommy buys her from the Goodwill Foundation, and they don't come with little notes that say '_Angel'_ on them, and Sakura wonders what she did wrong.

She hears voices sometimes. Sometimes they're angry screams or cackles, like the teasing she gets from the kids at school, but sometimes they're nice rings of laughter, like whenever she and Ino play ring-around-the-rosie, but they scare her because sometimes there's nobody in the room.

Later into the year the voice becomes more defined and it begins to take on the sound of her own voice. She listens to it sometimes and does what it says, and she gets in trouble for it, and the kisses and laughter of mommy and daddy begin to turn into disappointed stares, but they mostly just ignore her and live their lives.

_**Five.**_

Sakura is ten.

She hasn't flown in a terribly long time and she hasn't been gathered into her father's arms or been kissed goodnight, or received a gauzy dress, and sometimes she stares at the area in front of where the television used to be, where her father used to let her dance on his feet, and she thinks that maybe she wasn't the angel – she never was. Her father was an angel-in-training, and he helped her fly a little bit before he got tired and decided to do something else, like drink wine and martinis and make Sakura's mother laugh that tiny-bell laugh that Sakura could never mimic correctly.

The voice tells Sakura to find an angel that could fly her away to where someone might love her the way she should be loved, and so she searches like the good little girl she's always been, and she draws doodles of angels in her notebooks and pictures of herself in the white dresses she misses. And the only person who still treats her like maybe she's worth something is Ino, and sometimes the two girls stay up late on the phone, talking about _angelsangelsangels_ and while the blonde little girl is getting more and more fragile, Sakura thinks she's still beautiful, and maybe if anyone has a chance of becoming a mythical creature, it must be her.

_**Six.**_

Sakura is thirteen. Ino is better now, strong and healthy, and Sakura thinks that maybe they can be friends again. But when the girl comes back from the hospital, she's different. She's calm and beautiful on the outside, but on the inside there's a dark, suppressed anger and seems like it will never go away.

And then Ino's father dies and she comes to live with Sakura. And the smiles on her face turn into twisted smirks. And whatever was left of Sakura's fairy-tale life dies, and instead of a mother and father that almost love her, and at least one good friend that would _nevernevernever_ turn her back on her, she's got a mother and father that wonder what happened to their beautiful rosebud-daughter, and a friend that blames her for everything that went wrong in life. And maybe there's not a chance that Ino could become that angel, but the voice in her head tells her that there's someone out there. And it tells her that she needs to _fly, fly away_ and she's determined to do anything she can to ensure that her fairy-tale life will come back together, even though everything's falling apart around her.

---

**-=Sasuke=-**

It's cold, Sasuke thinks, as the anesthesia goes to work and a fog settles thickly over his mind. He wishes things could have turned out differently. That he had never been born with wings to begin with, that Sakura hadn't had such a horrible upbringing, that Sakura didn't _need_ him to be the angel-savior he never could be, and that he didn't have to go and _hit_ her and screw up everything...

It's cold.

He thinks maybe he deserves the scalpel that will soon be stabbed into his back.

**-=Sakura=-**

Another week passes before Sakura gets a phone call.

_"Sakura?"_

"...Sasuke? Is that really you?"

_"Yes...Will you meet me at the park behind my house?"_

"You're back?"

_"Yes. And...just...I'm sorry. I'm sorry I never showed them to you."_

The line clicks dead.

---

It's entirely

too hot.

The sun rays remind me of before.

That longing to meet a perfect angel

and daydreams of dancing up on beams of light, but

I feel that something is horribly wrong

_**Something is...**_

in the pit of my stomach.

And when I reach the park

and see Sasuke's lone form

thin, in a T-shirt and pants,

beneath a basketball hoop,

I realize what's wrong.

I have never once seen Sasuke

without something bulky on

to cover his wings...

but now, there's nothing to cover.

**-=Sasuke=-**

"Can I..." she whispers, brokenly, "See them?"

His chest feels tight and too small for his heart that's too large and beating too hard. His back burns and the stitches itch and he's sure its less than a beautiful sight, but somehow he feels that he needs to show her _(Can you see what I've done? What a horrible mistake I've made?)_.

He pulls his shirt over his head, his gauze-wrapped body instantly warmed by the sun. He moves to pull away the wrapping, but Sakura puts her hand over his.

"Can I do it?" she asks softly, her eyes glassy, her cheeks and nose burning red with the effort to hold back her tears.

_(WILL YOU FLY ME AWAY FROM HERE)_

He sucks in a breath and nods.

Her touch is gentle but somehow it hurts. The feeling that she will see them. That she will know what he's done.

_(YOU'RE THE EPITOME OF AN ANGEL)_

Standing behind him, a stray sob escapes her when she finally removes the last of the bandages. She touches the skin around the wounds with cool fingers that are pleasant to his back but make his chest feel even tighter. She removes her hand and her crying ceases to be audible. _(Hate me.) _He thinks she must be disgusted. Thinks he should probably leave.

_(ARE YOU ASHAMED TO BE SEEN WITH ME THE WAY I AM)_

She presses her cheek to the base of his neck, and puts her arms around him, her hands on his chest. No other part of her body touches him, and his back remains unbothered. When he takes her hands, they're swallowed by his.

"I would have flown you away. If I could have."

Sakura removes her hands from his and turns him to face her. She puts her hand behind his neck and stands on her toes and leans in, her lips an inch away from his, but she's looking in his eyes so intently that that thought is very far away.

"I love you," Sakura whispers, and presses her lips to his.

The world is bright and blinding even behind his closed eyelids, and his back burns white-hot without pain as new, larger, fuller wings sprout. He feels full and complete and-

_(I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I LOVE YOU I-)_

And then he has to let go as the ray of bright shining down upon him brings him up into the air, and Sakura watches with still tear-filled eyes as he flies away with full wings of blessedness to the heavens.

A gust of wind blows through, completely unaffecting him, but Sakura's hair and clothes blow around her and her mouth is moving and she's saying-

_(I'M OK I'M OK I'M OK)_

**-=Sakura=-**

_"Poor Girl."_

The funeral is much more crowded than Sakura thinks Sasuke ever could have possibly imagined. That quiet kept-to-himself boy with no family has a crowd of so many people, it sends little giggles of gratitude bubbling up from her gut. She had expected Itachi and Naruto, and she knew wherever Naruto would go, Hinata would follow. But with Hinata came Shino and Kiba and Neji. And of course, where Neji went, so did Tenten, and Tenten always brings a party with her, including Lee and Temari. And Shikamaru being Temari's old friend, he followed, bringing his entire lunch table (_they were wanted, whether they felt anything for Sasuke or not)_. And surprisingly enough, Ino attended, even shedding a tear or two. But not only did many of the students come, but so did the teachers, Kakashi and Tsunade and Kabuto and Kurenai coming to pay their respects.

_"Sakura, I'm so, so sorry. I know you loved him-"_

The apologies and condolences wash over the little pink-haired girl. She smiles and giggles like a child with a secret.

_**Because you know the truth. He's not dead, he's just...**_

_"It's a shame something like this had to happen. You never expect it so close to home."_

_"Yes. You always hear about the complications of surgeries, but it's always such a wake-up call when it happens to someone you know."_

_**...free.**_

It's Naruto who empties the hand-painted urn over the water. It's on the beach that her small group of friends had thrown her an after-party for her mother's funeral.

Another giggle escapes from her throat.

---

A week passes.

Sakura's tired of being so incapable of figuring out what to do with herself. She wanders aimlessly. She's tired of people telling her how _sorry_ they are because there's nothing to be sorry about. Sasuke is free.

_**And you aren't.**_

She thinks she should be surprised that no one even notices when she finds herself wandering through the hospital. It's when she ends up on the roof and she stares out over the hand-railing that she feels like her chest is being ripped open. So she falls to her knees and cries.

_**You knew this from the beginning-**_

"_Sasuke!_" she wails, sobs ripping from her body with staggering force.

_**-no angel sticks around forever.**_

---

_**Seven.**_

Sakura is fifteen.

She gets expelled from school due to a blind appreciation towards Ino, her supposed best friend, _sister._ She goes to a new school where lots of bad things happen, but a lot of good things happen too, and she makes a lot of friends and she's _sososo_ unbelievably happy like she never has been before, and she meets a real _**AngelAngelAngel**_, just like she's always dreamed of named Sasuke. Her mother dies and maybe takes a little bit of Sakura with her, but maybe Sasuke gives a little bit back. Ino gets pregnant and Sakura's blind love for her sister maybe fades a little bit when she gets a taste of real love, but Ino's blind hate for Sakura simmers as well.

And maybe Sakura falls a little too hard for her angel-savior, and when she kisses him, his small feathery wings become blessed by heaven and they grow bigger and stronger and he flies away without her, and she can do nothing but smile and hope that maybe, just maybe _Everything Will Be Okay._

_**Eight.**_

Sakura is sixteen.

She starts out a good girl, a sad girl, and everything in between, trying to help Ino raise her baby and trying not to think about _him,_ but not wanting to forget, _never wanting to forget_.

She comes home to a house of wails and cries of a tiny baby with tiny hands and a tiny face and _oh-so-wide_ icy blue eyes that match her too-young mother's. Every once in a while, Sakura's father wakes up from one of his drunken stupors and looks at the little baby. And when he looks at her it is Sakura he sees, so he will stroke his blood-daughter's cheek with a far-off look in his eye before he will go back to the sofa where he will drown himself in booze and trash-TV because he can't remember how to love the daughter that once danced on his feet in their beach house so long ago.

Sakura stays out late, often going nowhere. She draws pictures, lots and lots of pictures of a boy she doesn't think was real _(a boy she loves so much!)_ She doesn't hear that distinct voice in her head anymore; instead she gets little whispers of insanity and of death and demons and how _there's no such thing as angels._

_**Nine.**_

Sakura is seventeen. She can't remember things very well, can't remember when she was a good girl, a sad girl, and everything in between. She spends her late nights out at clubs, dancing in gauzy white dresses that seem vaguely familiar, getting drunk and forgetting things and maybe people that were once very important to her.

She moves out of her father's house, unable to take the baby's wails, her sister's never-again love, and her father's slow deterioration. The pictures she paints and draws are more and more abstract as her memories and thoughts are as well, and she knows she's spiraling downwards, but somehow she can't make herself do anything to stop it.

And maybe now and then she'd just go out and _kiss_. Because maybe if she kissed hard enough, kissed the right person, he'd turn into a boy with startling black eyes and pretty black hair, and this time when his wings would sprout, he would take her with him instead of leaving her behind in this world of disappointment and despair and little broken fairy tales she thought she could fix.

_**Ten.**_

Sakura is eighteen. She returns to school and takes her senior year with students she doesn't know, as all of her friends have graduated already. That doesn't bother her though because time has passed and by now she's sure she must be as vague to them in memory as they are to her.

She's not completely weaned off alcohol, but she has a job now and will only drink herself silly on the nights she doesn't have to work the next day.

She waits tables at a small diner. Only once does someone she knows enter the diner. It's a young man with hair the color of fine wine and the kanji symbol for 'love' tattooed on his forehead. Neither of these things stand out as much to her as the color of his eyes do. A brilliant shade of aquamarine that makes her want to claw at her own eyes and nose and mouth and tear away her face so she is no longer recognizable. A different waitress gets his table. Sakura never sees him again.

_**Eleven.**_

Sakura is twenty.

Ino drops by her apartment, a four year-old girl with dark brown hair and icy blue eyes gripping her hand. The woman hands her an envelope.

"It's got your name on it. I got one too. I figured this was the one piece of mail worth bringing you."

When they've gone, Sakura rips open the envelope. It's a wedding invitation. For Hinata and Naruto.

At the wedding, Hinata's hair is long, in curls. Her dress trails out behind her like liquid satin. Naruto's grin is still cheeky and boyish. And very happy.

Sakura stands outside the building rented for the after-party in a gauzy dress, watching couples dance in circles through wide, clear windows, before finally turning around to leave.

_**Twelve.**_

Sakura is twenty-four.

She flies a lot. On airplanes. She stares out the window at the clouds. And finds herself wondering where the angels are.

_Sasuke, are you there? I'm here._

_**Thirteen.**_

Sakura is twenty-six. She meets a man. She doesn't love him, but he lets her live in his house and he cares for her, slung over his arm as the trophy-wife she pretends to be, behaving as a wealthy entrepreneur's wife should when guests come over for dinner and for in-house meetings.

They get married that fall.

_**Fourteen.**_

Sakura is thirty.

She has a son.

He's born with wings.

_Angel. Angel. Angel._

**.**

**.**

**.**

**

* * *

**

_**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or "Some Curious and Beautiful Maps" by The Silent Type. Those belong to their respective owners and stuff.**_

_**A/N: I'm sure that many of you will not like this ending, seeing as I got like 3223498 requests for a happy ending, but my beta and I both agreed in the end that that was just not likely and would not have fit the flow of the story. I wanted to make this end in a way to where sequels were not open for discussion. I don't know if anyone would **_**want**_** to undertake the task of writing an alternate ending, but if per chance, any of you would like to borrow my interpretations of the characters and make an omake or an alternate ending, or maybe fanart of any sort, I would be really really honored. But anyway. Thank you all so much for sticking with me the whole way, or even if you are a new reader, for taking the time to look through this. I appreciate it more than you know.**_

_**There will be an extras chapter, most likely. It'll pretty much just be the unedited stuff that didn't make the cut in the final version of the story. Deleted scenes, I guess.**_

_**But anyway, thank you all for a most enjoyable ride. I hope you ALL will review to tell me what your lasting impressions are, and perhaps a few of you will check out my fictionpress, the link to which is on my profile. I love you all so much!**_

_**Many thanks to my beta, Ira Feye, who has been the most wonderful beta I could ever ask for!**_

_**Peace out.**_

**_Edit:_** **_I fixed some formatting errors. Hopefully that will make it easier to read. ;)_**

_**-MT**_


	28. extras

_**Somebody**_

_**By. Misery's-Toll**_

_**Extras**_

_**A/N: Hi. I'm going to start off by saying thank you again for all of the wonderful support I've received, the kind compliments given, and even moreso the constructive criticism. It really means more than you know. I'd like to just real quick respond to some anonymous reviewers that I have no other way of contacting. For those of you who just want to get on with the extras, skip over the bolded stuff that ISN'T italicized or underlined:**_

**To lazylazylazy: Silly as it sounds, when I first decided to kill off Sasuke, it kind of hurt. I mean, sure he's Kishimoto's and all that, but I kind of made him mine in the little added quirks and all that, and I felt kind of close to Sakura since some of her experiences are based directly off of those of my own so I was actually really really sad about him dying. The only way I could make myself feel better about it was that I knew that Sakura was mentally unstable enough to accept that he had been an angel and merely flown away rather than died from complications of surgery. Also I went back and reread Sakura's birthday chapter so that I could read them be cuddly and together again. Heheh.**

**To shadow avenger: Oh, this sort of also goes to lazylazylazy. But anyway, that's sweet of both of you to think that this would be worthy of publishing. But I think that since its my baby I'd be too worried sick that whoever I sent it to wouldn't like it. I mean, first I'd have to remove it from fanfiction (and then I'd sort of lose the proof that I ever wrote something anyone read) and then change all of the Naruto names and references to something not taken from an anime/manga, as well as rewrite the first several chapters since they were pre-beta, and nobody really takes the romance/angst writings of a teenager seriously, right? It's kind of nice notion to entertain, though. :)**

**To LizzieStuck91: I'm sorry about your home life. If you ever need someone to talk to, just PM me or email me, okay? And that goes the same for any of you who read this. Come to mama Lilly and she'll listen to your woes.**

_**Oops. Those replies ended up longer than I intended.**_

_**Anyway. On with the show. Though I have to warn you, its nothing exciting. Also, the underline only worked like three times, so its inconsistent. I'll try again later to see if it works.**_

_**One: The alternate ending.  
**__**The happy ending that didn't fit that I wrote probably almost two years ago.**_

_You'reBeautiful__**You'reBeautiful**_

"I would have flown you away. If I could have."

Sakura removes her hands from his and turns him to face her. She puts her hand behind his neck and stands on her toes and leans in, her lips an inch away from his, but she's looking in his eyes so intently that that thought is very far away.

"I love you," Sakura whispers, and presses her lips to his.

---

_**Infinitely Inevitable**_

And she was inevitably Sakura, and he was infinitely Sasuke, and maybe his wings were clipped, but she never had them, but they were _here, _now, and this was the closest to heaven that they'd ever be, but…

Somehow, they were both okay with that.

_**Two: Everyone's continued interludes (unfinished).  
Devised when I thought there would be a two-year time-skip that would need explanation. This had a different ending where Sasuke just turned into an angel and flew away. This takes place as though Ino and Sakura never came to terms, and Hinata and Sakura never fixed up their friendship.**_

_**Seven.**_

Hinata is fifteen. It's a lonely life, living for the next opportunity to see Naruto. He's got other friends, ones she's sure she's keeping him away from by following him around like a baby chick to its mama.

A new girl joins the school. She's mysterious, vibrant, awkward. Lovely. Her name...Sakura... Hinata is instantly drawn to her. They become confidants, friends. She stays even when Hinata's father disowns her. Stays even when she learns of Hinata's lost child. But leaves. Leaves when its convenient. Leaves Hinata confused. And lost.

And then the monsters in the closet come back to haunt her when the father of her _(gonegonegone)_ child becomes her co-Biology teacher, the man who _destroyed_ her. But she comes to forgive him. Comes to terms with the death of her child. Comes to terms with life before. Because Hinata and Naruto begin dating. And its wonderful_amazing__**everything**_. And she loves him. _And he loves her._

_**Eight.**_

Hinata is sixteen. She makes good grades, makes good money, makes her godmother proud.  
Kurenai gets pregnant. With the baby of one of the staff members at her school. The father dies.

Hinata spends her nights listening to Kurenai cry.

One night, she has to get away from the sounds of sobbing and crying and agnonizing screams. She goes to Naruto.

They make love for the first time.

_**Seven.**_

Ino is fifteen. She lives for the moment. Lives for pain. Lives for money and power and _sex._ She has what the boys want and she lets them have it. But she unexpectedly falls in love.

And then her mom dies. And Ino gets pregnant. And she's scared. And then Shikamaru _(I love you)_ leaves her. Justifiably. And then she's angry. Angry at herself for being a whore, angry at Shikamaru for not understanding, angry at Sakura for being _so. damn. perfect._ So she destroys her. Rips her apart at the seams. But the girl won't fall because she's found love that won't die. And then she finds some sort of twisted comraderie in the girl when she is the only girl in the world who could possibly understand her situation and her feelings and _(God, do I despise you...)_ then love dies and the girl breaks and justice is served.

_**Eight.**_

Ino is sixteen years-old. She drops out of school. Has her baby. It hurts and she shrieks and she cries but when all is done and the baby is cradled in her arms, looking up at her with wide, ice blue eyes that look just like hers, look just like her mother's, she can't help but somehow love the child and know that she'll never let it go.

_(I forgive you.)_

She returns to school in the spring, a baby on her hip.

_**Seven.**_

Sasuke is sixteen.

He meets a tiny girl who is _beaten__**broken**_ and he tries to protect her from a cruel world that doesn't treat her right, because she's the first person he's ever known to tell him he's not a demon, _he's an angel, just like he always dreamed of_, and who is to tell him but a little girl named Sakura.

He goes home to the house of a not-quite-fixed brother, and smoke and coldness that seeps into his clothes and body like music that repels everyone but his little cherub girl. Somewhere along the way he falls for her, _fast__**hard**_ and when she kisses him, his hideous deformities grow into something beautiful that _she _always wanted, but he can't deny, so he has no choice but to fly away without her, just watching as she stares at him with that broken little smile that he wishes he could have fixed a little bit better.

_**Eight.**_

Sasuke is seventeen.

He lives in a world of happiness and strength and warmth that feels so full and loving. But he feels like there's a hole in the bottom of his full glass, and it's draining very quickly, and the only thing that can stop it is now as unreachable as this state of living once was.

He keeps an eye on her through what they call the Looking Glass, watching as she detaches herself from life, something once so important to her, because he can see that her hope is _fadingfadingfading, gonegonegone. _Each angel is given certain families to watch over, monitor until the end of time. When it's someone's time to die, he takes their soul and gives it to another who is then born anew. And even though it hurts, he does his job anyways, taking life and giving it back.

_**Nine.**_

Sasuke is eighteen. He gets tired of taking lives, giving them to newborns who often weren't wanted in the first place.

His once-full glass is now half-empty, the warmth pooling out beneath his feet when he goes to the Looking Glass and watches his not-quite angel girl go out and kiss boys that aren't him. Because he can't protect her, angel or not.

_**Three: Shikamaru's thoughts before breaking up with Ino in chapter 13.  
Before I decided that only people who had interlude chapters could have POVs.**_

He considers himself simple. Almost boringly so. He isn't suffering from any deeply-buried tragedy, nor is he a troubled drug-addict, nor does he have any sort of family problems. The only thing that makes him stand out in the least is the fact that he has an IQ of 200, which just increases his outlook of boredom on life.

So he supposes that Ino is probably the most interesting thing that has happened to him in the longest time. Before meeting her, he hadn't really considered dating. Despite his constant repetition of the word,_ 'troublesome,'_ he supposes that the more troublesome something is, the more he is actually drawn to it. Despite his lazy nature, it is perhaps only because he is not faced with any true challenges; he is only bored.

At first Ino was only a slightly distracting form of amusement. But unlike most people, who would have had to pick away at the layers of her mask individually before they could actually see who she was, with his perceptive talents, he could easily just see right through all of those carefully prepared layers after only a few pointless conversations. And thus a relationship was born. And soon he found that she was more like his mother than any other girl he had met (and like most boys, despite what they say, he finds those attributes attractive in women). He certainly doesn't know anything of Ino's and Sakura's inner relationships; he leaves that to be Ino's business, but he sits and listens when she comes to him, distressed and panicked and in need of a good cry as she speaks to him of her parents' deaths and then her adoptive mother's death and how she's so sick of everything.

And while she is so simple to read, the challenge comes in keeping up with her. He wants to please her and be enough for her, and that takes more effort than he thinks he's really put into anything before. Keeping a relationship alive. And maybe it isn't love, but the thinks that maybe it's something close to it.

And thus when Tayuya calls Shikamaru over to sit beside her and help her with her History homework, he is a little surprised when he finds that she has none, and that she just wanted to talk to him. So he sits at a table with four boys, Sakon, Ukon, Kimimarou, and Jirobu, and then Tayuya, all looking annoyed but slightly smug.

"Well dipshit, I just thought I'd give you the heads-up, as it seems your girlfriend is a lying whore," the rose-haired girl laughs, "'Cause she's doing all four of my boys here, while also doing you. Funny, huh?

Shikamaru stares blankly at Tayuya for half a second before processing the information, "Right…"

Jirobu snorts, "Knew he wouldn't believe you. Just give it a rest, Tayuya. What do you care anyways?"

"If you don't believe me, you could take it from them, or probably almost any asshole in the school that are outside of your little group of dick-headed friends. And I don't particularly care what happens to you. I just want to watch that little bitch burn."

Shikamaru gets up and leaves the table and begins to ponder what Tayuya said. And the more he looks at it, the more his intelligent mind begins to pick at the unraveling pieces of his relationship, and eventually he has a handful of thread that when strung between his fingertips individually, he can see every bit clearly.

Knowing she cheated or knowing he didn't catch it –he doesn't know which hurts worse.

_**Four: Sakura's first day in AP art.  
**__**This was the original opening to chapter 14. Trashed because I felt it unecessary to introduce new characters, and it wasn't going anywhere.**_

When Sakura walks into her first period class, she feels it is just like walking into school for the first time all over again.

_**All eyes on you, dear.**_

She stands awkwardly next to the door trying somehow to blend into the stark-white wall, though she knows it's impossible to do so with her vibrant hair color. Her eyes flicker around the room, and immediately land on a boy she remembers having only met once. The boy she shares a locker with.

_"You're ugly."_

She immediately straightens her hunched-over and guarded position when his eyes land on her. She bites the inside of her cheek to keep from squirming as he gives her a mirthless smile.

"Oh, Haruno Sakura! I'm glad to see you're doing well again, un."

Sakura turns her head to see Deidara-sensei entering the classroom, a large grin easily overtaking half of his face. He sets his cup of coffee on his desk and removes his scarf from his neck before motioning to an empty stool sitting before an easel. He pulls a blank canvas from a box, hitting a cup of colored pencils over with his elbow in the process.

"Hm. Well," he says, and rubs the back of his neck with his free hand as he hands Sakura the canvas. She takes it and begins to bend down to help him pick up the pencils, but another hand beats her to it.

"Good morning, Deidara-sensei."

Sakura can't help but admire how pretty the boy is in front of her. Were it not for his voice, she might have mistaken him for a girl. He has long fingers, each nail coated with a chipping layer of purple polish, and his hands are splotched with old paint. He picks up each of the colored pencils individually and sets the cup upright, returning them all to their original position.

"Thank you, Haku. There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Sakura, un."

The boy gives her a smile that she can't tell whether it's real or fake and bows his head a little before walking away.

_**Five: The original dance scene between Sakura and Sasuke, inspired by a message I recieved from someone whose username was "double mask" only with some periods in there. But fanfiction doesn't support the periods. But anyway, I didn't really feel like it showed the progress of Sakura's and Sasuke's relationship enough, so I rewrote it. And since I'm just sorta putting all sorts of crap in this, I figure I'll wedge this in here, too:**_

And I

lean my head on his chest and

he puts his hand on the back of my neck.

And I never would have guessed that

something so simple could

be so

_comforting_

and somehow I find that

very sad.

I don't really know why but

I start crying

and

its nice to know that you can

cry on someone

again and again and

never have to worry that they'll

be disgusted with you.

I can find that here.

Why is that so...

_sad?_

_**Because sadness is the only feeling you can properly recognize.**_

I think maybe it's sad because

it feels like it's

about to be over.

And the thought of this

_ever__**ever**__ever_ ending

hurts more than anything.

_**Because happy endings are too good for you, aren't they?**_

I've never been more sad

or more happy

in my entire life.

A kind of grief where

your feet start tingling and your brain hurts and everything becomes unfocused but

a kind of glee where

you can't breathe over the

excited jitters of your heart and

your face can't stop smiling a too-large grin so everyone looks at you funny and

you're suddenly conscious that

life is good.

_**But unfortunately...**_

Nothing lasts forever and

I'm scared.

_**Six: In which Sasuke finds out some stuff, Post time-skip.  
Trashed with the rest of the time-skip. At this point, things were just getting plain weird and out of hand.**_

_Crack! Crack! Crack!_

And then they're skidding across the pavement, Sakura tightly entrapped within the confines of Sasuke's limbs and wings, leaving her completely unscathed. Somehow she's sticky with blood anyways.

Sasuke quickly pulls her to her feet, jerking her by the arm, pulling her behind him, sheilding her with his wings. The feathers are matted with blood. Two holes in one wing, one in his shoulder. He's breathing raspily, twisting his knobby fingers around the oozing wound. His protective stance does not falter though his hair sticks to his face with sweat and his body is trembling.

"Step aside, Sasuke. You can still cooperate and this won't have to go any further. This won't be but a small mark on your permanent record. We won't have to remove your wings. End things here. Give her to us. This won't even have to be a black mark if you do it yourself."

Sakura isn't sure when the tears started falling, but she can feel them streaming down her cheeks, burning fiery hot trails to her chin where they drip off.

"Sasuke," she gasps, "Uchiha Sasuke, don't you dare sacrifice anything more for me."

He turns his head to look at her with eyes of molten-lava, his expression more furious and pained than she's ever seen him before. His jaw is clenched tight, his fingers twitching over the mess his arm is.

She giggles, and the new flood of tears traces the lines of her dimples, "I got to fly, Sasuke," _I got you, Sasuke,_ "That's all I've ever wanted. Let me go, Sasuke."

"She never even wanted you. She only wanted your wings."

Sakura stares into his eyes. She says nothing; maybe it would be easier for him to let her go if he believed she didn't want him. But then, thinking of him living on, never knowing she loved him...

She can't speak. She can barely breathe, her chest feels so tight and full of pure emotion. So she mouths it.

_I. LOVE. YOU._

She smiles.

_Crack!_

Sasuke whips around and disappears in a flicker. She is grabbed from behind. She opens her mouth to scream until she realizes it's Sasuke. Sasuke is behind her. Blood is dripping from his clenched hand, firmly grasping a..._bullet?_

"You. Can't. Have. Her," Sasuke growls.

"Sasuke. An infant needs to be born."

Sakura is startled and suddenly very confused, "Wha-"

"Then take me," Sasuke insists, "Don't take her. My life was over before it began."

Sakura holds the arm he has wrapped protectively around her, tightly.

"Sasuke...you don't have a soul to give."

Sakura can hear his breath exit him with a whoosh, and it tickles her neck. She presses herself tightly against him, momentarily remembering a tiny blue-haired girl who could do nothing but share her existance to try to console them. And so that's what she does. And she wills him mentally to understand _Sasuke, I'm here._

"Wh-What? Then how could I exist?" he demands, his voice rumbling deep within his chest.

A smile. "You have wings, Sasuke. You don't need a soul."

_**Seven: An unfinished 'extra' to after the ending I actually went with when I was sad about killing off Sasuke. Set after Sakura marries Tomoya Kuron and they have a baby with wings. I felt like it was horrible and creepy so I ended up just using the beginning for one of my original stories on fictionpress.**_

He comes out silent and brooding as though the nine months waiting had been spent pondering the mysteries of the world. And throughout the pondering he discovered the meaning of life. And with all of that behind him there was really nothing left that mattered because he already accomplished more than anyone else his age, so maybe he should wait it out a few years before he started to care again.

But his mama loves him. As soon as she pushes that one last time and that umbillical cord is severed, she holds him in her arms and she loves him. His bright baby-pink face that matches her tresses stares up at her, eyes wide and brown and bored like her husband's. And even though she doesn't love those eyes on her husband, somehow this child is beautiful.

It's when the doctor removes the swaddling cloth and shows her the white, limp feathers stuck to the infant's back in wirey clumps, wiggling and extending that she realizes what her baby is.

_You're an angel. You're an __**angel.**_

She keeps the child held close to her bosom, the child suckling away until Sakura feels withered, but it's okay because this child is _beautiful_, this child is _perfect, _this child is _ANGEL._

---

"Yusuke!" the little boy looks up and stares half-heartedly at his mother. He's seven years old, he's young, but thoughtful and quiet.

_He's shy_, his father would tell the neighbors and the school-teachers and the family friends. And they'd believe him, because what other excuse would there be for a child with parents as perfect as Sakura and Tomoya Kuron?

His mama looks down at his drawings. They're full of a boy with black-dark hair and pale skin and _wings_. Her hands tremble as she looks at the picture. She just bought him the crayons yesterday, but he hadn't had any desire to use them until this morning after his dream. He was hoping that using them and drawing her a picture would make her happy, but with her tear-filled eyes and sorry expression that she usually gets when papa listens to gospel music a little too loud, he thinks he probably did something wrong instead.

"Mama? Who's Sasuke?"

She drops the picture and it flutters onto the floor. _She doesn't like the picture, she doesn't like the picture, she doesn't..._

She drops to the floor and pulls him into her lap. The boys at school make fun of him when he clings to his mother around the hip or holds her hand, but he feels better like this. Much better than when Papa pats his shoulder or ruffles his hair. Mama's arms hold him with love while Papa looks at him in a way he doesn't understand.

"Where'd you hear that name?" her voice is a candy-sweet breath in his ear. It sounds sad, and now Yusuke definitely regrets drawing the quiet, thoughtful boy from his dreams with the wings that are much bigger than his.

"I dream about him sometimes. He sits on the end of my bed at night and tells me stories, but Daddy told me I was just dreaming. He's an angel boy, like me. And he told me he loves you."

His mama kisses him on the jaw and hugs him to you, "Did he, now?"

It takes Yusuke a few seconds to realize that the wetness landing on his shoulder is his mother's tears. She presses her lips into the brown locks of his hair, and he feels wetness from her tears there, too.

"Do you wanna sleep in my bed tonight, mama? We can stay up all night and tell each other stories and maybe Sasuke will come and he'll tell us stories, too! Daddy doesn't even have to know since he's on his business trip!"

His mother holds his tiny hand and she rubs a circle on the back of it with her thumb, "Okay."

---

Sakura spends the day setting up for their little slumber party. She ties up blankets to make a canopy over their heads, but leaving an opening for just in case her other angel boy comes. She gets flashlights with different brightly covered bulbs for them to use so that Yusuke won't be afraid of the dark. And she makes cookies for them to eat, even though Tomoya says no sugar after six o'clock.

They tell stories to each other until long after sundown. Sometime a little after midnight, Yusuke sits up from his half-asleep reclined state on Sakura's lap.

"What is it, Yusuke?" she asks, stroking his hair with the pad of her fingertips.

"He's here. Do you see him, mama? He's sitting at the end of the bed. He's staring at you."

Sakura looks around at the end of the bed, and she realizes that everything is losing focus. The water coating her lower eyelid overflows and spills down her cheeks, "Sasuke?"

"He says he can use my body, if we let him. He says it won't hurt, and that I'll still be in my body, but it'll be like I'm asleep. I won't remember anything that happens from the time that he goes into my body to the time he leaves it."

Sakura squeezes his hand, but doesn't remove her eyes from the place at the end of the bed, "What do you think, Yusuke? What do you want to do?"

"Will it make you happy, Mama?" Yusuke squeezes her hand back.

Sakura releases his tiny too-small hand, "I don't know."

"Don't make Mama sad, okay Sasuke?" Yusuke looks to the invisible figure.

And then he slumps over. And then he suddenly sits back up.

His wide, brown eyes have a darker, redder tint to them, and a knowing smirk that's unfamiliar to her son's face makes him no longer look like her child. His expression and body language show too much intelligence and experience for a child only the age of seven. And then she knows that this is Sasuke. _Her_ Sasuke.

"S-Sasuke?" hot, hot tears drool down her face and neck faster than she can wipe them away.

"Sa-ku-ra," he says her name teasingly like he might have had they ever had the opportunity to actually date like they should have. It sounds weird, having her son's voice with her once-were lover's inflection. Suddenly his expression changes, "Don't cry."

"I'm sorry. I'm trying not to. I wish I could see you."

"You can. I just need access to your memories so I can see what I look like in your mind's eye."

He scoots forward on his knees and leans his forehead against hers, closing his eyes. She lets hers slide shut, too.

And then a large, warm, calloused hand cups her cheek and the faint smell of smoke and light fills her nostrils.

Their eyes open simultaneously, and then she is looking into eyes a deep, deep black. She thinks maybe his eyes weren't always that color, but that's the only way she can remember. This memory of him is old. It's faded. He's not a completely clear image, but she can catch the feeling and the smells he exudes.

_**And just in case anyone was curious, here's a timeline. When writing the story and planning when things happened, I didn't take into consideration how there are weekends and school days, so I just sort of have them wherever I want. Sorry for the inaccuracies.**_

Chapters ONE - SIX _Late November  
_Tick Tock Goes the Clock-- _December 23rd - December 25th  
_Hinata's Birthday-- _December 27th - January 5th  
_Fade Out-- _January 6th - January 7th  
_Tangled-- _January 13th - January 29th  
_Pretty Girl-- _January 30th  
_Moving on-- _February 5th  
_Break Me-- _February 7th  
_Fester-- _February 25th  
_Somebody-- _February 27th - 29th  
_Falling-- _March 1st - March 8th  
_Mend Me--_March 9th - 11th  
_Comfort--_March 16th - 21st  
_One Year the Wiser-- _March 28th  
_Fairy Tale 1-- _April 10th  
_Fairy Tale 2-- _April 11th  
_Child-- _April 25  
_Sakura's Interlude-- _May 2nd and forward_

_**A/N: So The End forever, I suppose. Sorry if it didn't turn out as you hoped. As of now I don't really have any ideas for future fanfictions and I'm trying to focus more on writing original works, but if anybody would like to collab or anything, I'd be happy to. So anyway, feel free to message me for any reason. Love you guys!**_

_**-MT**_


End file.
